Destined
by Strawbee08
Summary: “You’re nothing but a cheap lying bastard! What kind of a man are you, huh? You vermin-ridden, useless piece of crap! You don’t deserve to be happy, you worthless man-whore!” “Who the hell are you?” Oops. She crashed the wrong wedding. SxS.
1. Chapter 1

**Destined**

Author's note: Hello people! ;) So... I'm here again. LOL. I finally decided to write this new story, although I really haven't planned this one out yet. Anyway, this first chapter is purposefully short. The next ones will have the usual length. Thank you for giving this a chance!

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

Chapter 1

* * *

Sakura smiled wistfully.

Ah... that was such a good book. How she wished for a man, preferably someone like that male lead, to sweep her off her feet and carry her to happily ever after. 'Yeah, I'm a hopeless romantic. So what? Bite me.' Her thoughts, however, were broken when her roommate stormed in and went straight to the bathroom.

"O... kay..." Sakura blinked. "Someone needs to go so bad." Sighing, she decided to finally stand up from the couch. She groaned as she stretched out. How long had she been lying there, anyway? Well, if her sore muscles indicated anything – hours, no doubt. But who could blame her? She loved reading, and it was such a magnificent book. She couldn't stay away until the very last page. Oh well.

Her grumbling stomach reminded her that she hadn't had lunch yet. Sakura let out another sigh before walking towards the direction of the kitchen. "Hey Naoko, I'm going to make some sandwich, want some?" Sakura called out, but she got no reply in return. Instead, she heard weird noises coming from the bathroom. "Naoko?" Sakura retracted her steps and knocked. "Are you dying in there?" She pressed her ears towards the door. "Naoko, are you okay?" Leaning in closer, she realized that her friend was crying. "Sweetie, open up!" She started knocking loudly as she got more worried.

Desperate to get inside, Sakura went and searched for the bathroom keys. When she found it in one of the drawers, she immediately rushed back and pushed the key in. She opened the door urgently.

"Naoko?"

Louder sobs greeted Sakura's ears. She found her friend lying beside the bathtub with her face buried in her hands. Naoko's round glasses was on the floor next to her.

Sakura crouched down to her friend's level. "Naoko... Sshh..." She tried soothing the other girl. "It's okay... calm down, sweetie..." Sakura engulfed her in a hug, which Naoko instantly welcomed. "Hey... what's wrong?"

Naoko continued crying on Sakura's shoulder. It took her awhile before she got the strength to open her mouth. "H-he's get-getting," her voice was croaked, "He's g-getting ma–married!"

Sakura's brow knitted together in confusion. "... Who?"

"Kenji!"

Sakura's mouth formed into a small 'o'. Kenji – Naoko's boyfriend. "Oh, honey..." Sakura tried to understand, but she was still confused. How could Kenji be getting married? He was dating Naoko for a few months now! Unless... he was cheating on her? 'That – that lying –' Sakura's inner rant was stopped when Naoko began crying again. "Sshh, honey. It's his loss." Sakura continued to comfort her friend while trying to reign in her anger. How dare he! "He's an ass for doing that. He doesn't deserve you."

"Y-you don't un-und-understand..." came Naoko's broken reply. "I'm – I'm..." More sobs wracked her form. "I – I'm... pregnant!"

"Oh..." Sakura stiffened. She was thrown for a loop. "Oh..." Now this twisted things up. "Oh." Sakura took a deep breath – panicking would not be good. "Honey, you have to calm down. This will be bad for the baby." Sakura winced when her friend wept harder. That wasn't the wisest thing to say. "Sshh..." She waited until Naoko settled down a little before she asked, "Does Kenji know?"

Unable to speak, Naoko just shook her head.

Sakura pulled away to look at her roommate. Her eyes were puffy, and her nose was red due to all that crying. 'He is so going to pay.' True that Sakura wanted her own prince charming, but she was definitely no damsel in distress. Hell, she would turn into a dragon if those she loved and cared for weren't treated right. She was especially sensitive to Naoko since it was her who took good care of Sakura when she was new in Hong Kong. "Listen to me, Naoko," Sakura started strongly. "I will talk to that bas – I mean, to Kenji. He couldn't just marry off. He needs to know this. He needs to own up and take responsibility."

Again, Naoko shook her head.

"...What?" Sakura stared at her. "No, no, Naoko. He needs to know this! Even his wife-to-be must! She should know that she's marrying a good-for-nothing –"

"He's g-getting married –"

"I know. You told me. That's why –"

"– t-today..."

Okay, now that officially twisted and distorted things up.

Naoko hiccupped. "I w-went to him this morning to – to tell him the news that..." She cried harder again. "... that I'm pre–pregnant... but before I could, he – he broke up with me. He told me... he said he was getting married this af-afternoon." She clenched her fist. "He was – he was engaged all along."

Sakura was pissed with the man, but she quickly calmed herself. Naoko's welfare was the first priority. "Do you know where?"

Naoko distraughtly shared the details, "A-along 45th avenue –"

"I know the place," Sakura declared. There was only one church along that area. It was a very big one, and it was impossible to miss.

Sakura glanced at her watch. It was still early – she could still stop it. Now, the problem was Naoko. She just couldn't leave her here alone.

"Hey, guys!" A feminine voice called out from the outside. Bingo! "Your door wasn't locked so I went right in – holy shit! What happened in here?"

"Thank goodness, Chiharu!" Sakura exclaimed. "You answered my prayers."

"Huh? What?" Chiharu shook her head. "What are you – what is –"

"Can you take care of Naoko for me?" Without waiting for an answer, she transferred the depressed girl to Chiharu's arms. "Thanks!"

"Sakura!" Chiharu called her when she stood up. "What's wrong? What's going on?" She was utterly confused and a little panicked over the strange turn of events. Obviously, her initial plan of just chilling and hanging out wasn't going to happen.

"Just – just be here for Naoko, okay? I'll be right back."

"Where are you headed? Are you going to kill someone?!"

"What? No!" Sakura realized that she might have had a murderer's look plastered on her face so she straightened her expression. "Although, that seems to be a good idea... Ugh! Just be – stay here!" With those final words, Sakura grabbed her car keys.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It took Sakura around half an hour to get there. She was still as pissed as she was when she left the apartment complex. No, actually, if possible, she was more pissed than before. Why? Traffic was a bitch, and people kept shouting and honking at her for her crazy driving. Hello, she was trying to save a friend's future here! And to add to that, she was so freaking hungry!

"You are so going to get it," Sakura grumbled as she stepped outside her car.

She looked at the place before her. Wow... had Kenji always been this rich? Because from the looks of it... Argh, enough about that lying scum!

"Excuse me?"

Sakura looked to her side and saw a guard walking towards her. "Yes?"

"Can I see your invitation, ma'am?"

"Invitation?" She gulped. Yeah, she forgot to plan. "Oh, you see… funny story... err... I forgot it?" Damn, she sucked at lying.

"And you aren't wearing the required attire. I'm afraid I couldn't let you inside the premises."

"What?" Sakura looked down at her jeans and shirt. Okay, no arguments there. "But – but..." She needed to get inside! If she started a fight, they would surely ban her. Hence, Sakura decided on another approach. "You see... I'm not actually a guest here. I'm a... uh..." She smiled charmingly at the expectant look of the guard. "I'm... one of the wedding coordinators."

The guard nodded. He seemed to buying her bull, but he still needed the necessary proof. "Can I see your I.D.?"

She bit back her growl of frustration. "Ah yes, that... Actually, I don't need an I.D. Everyone there knows me."

"Can I have your name then? I'll see if you're on the list."

Sakura's patience was running thin because her time was running out. "I'm a last minute substitute... coordinator... assistant? Uh... yeah."

"I'm afraid I didn't get that, ma'am."

She cleared her throat. "I said I'm one of the coordinator's assistant. It was a last minute thing, you know. One of the assistant got sick, and um... so they called me since they, uh... needed all the help they can get," Sakura rambled on her lies. "And, um... and they only informed me about this a couple of hours ago, so that explains my lateness. Yeah..."

Again, the guard gave a nod. "Your name, please?"

Damn it! This man was working on Sakura's last nerve. What kind of wedding was this? Why did security have to be so strict? "Iwa Ayame." Another lie.

The guard looked down at the list in his hands. Gah... that was one long list.

"Listen..." Sakura forced another nice smile. "The wedding is about to start soon, and I have to be there. You wouldn't want to be responsible for the delay of the wedding, right?"

The guard seemed to consider letting her go since he was taking an awful lot of time locating the name she gave. Not that it was there in the first place.

"I really have to be there," Sakura added more pressure. "I'm, uh... in-charge of the procession of the entourage."

Sakura was now extremely anxious. She was already thinking of ways of how she could knock this man down. Well yeah, maybe sometimes violence is the answer?

Just then, a muffled voice came from the radio that was attached to the guard's waist. Sakura watched impatiently as the guard converse with whoever was on the line. From what she could gather, the guard was needed somewhere else.

Sakura readily took this opportunity. "I really have to go," she reiterated, purposely interrupting. "I mean, I still have to change, they have my, uh... formal clothes there." She knew she was pushing it, but come on!

Finally, he sighed in defeat and gave in. "Okay, ma'am. You may now proceed."

'About damn time!' Sakura murmured her thanks before sprinting in.

However, if she looked across the church even just once, she would see the registry office... where a certain civil wedding was about to start.

"You have got to be kidding me," Sakura muttered as she started running through the huge parking lot and the immensely long driveway. Why did she park her car outside? With little care, she couldn't help but notice the luxury cars and uniformed men standing about. '... Bodyguards?' Sakura shook her head when she reached the huge front door.

The bride and the groom were now in front, with their backs turned to her. She was right on time. The wedding was just about to start.

"Wait, hold on!" Sakura cried when two men started closing the doors. She immediately stepped inside. When the priest was about to open his mouth, Sakura shouted, "Stop!"

Almost immediately, everyone turned to her.

"Stop the wedding!" She continued. "I have – hey! Let go of me!" Sakura tried breaking free when the men by door grabbed her. They were too quick. She saw two more walking towards her. Uh-oh. She needed to do this fast. With all her strength, she pulled one of her hands free and pointed at the groom. She sent a quick prayer and asked for apology for the things that was about to sprout from her mouth in the house of God. "You dick!"

Audible gasps were heard before hushed whispers broke out.

"You're nothing but a cheap lying bastard! You – ow!" She got seized again, but that didn't stop her. "You prick! You got my friend pregnant! How dare you marry someone else?! What kind of a man are you, huh? How could you escape your obligations?!"

Everything was now in complete uproar. People were no longer speaking in low voices. Sakura's outburst caught them all off-guard. Even the guards who were trying to detain her were taken aback.

"You vermin-ridden, useless piece of crap!" Sakura took this chance to continue. "You don't deserve to be happy, you worthless man-whore! You should be ashamed of yourself and drop off the face of the planet! You're a waste of space and –"

*SLAP*

The whole room turned silent when the bride slapped the groom. It was as if things were in slow motion as the bride turned around and headed for the exit.

For one brief moment, Sakura caught the painful expression of the bride. She saw the unshed tears on those lovely amethyst eyes when the bride walked passed her.

"Wait!"

Sakura was snapped back to reality when another man came running out. He was so fast that she only saw the back of his head. She spotted him wearing glasses, though.

Chaos erupted, and Sakura got officially thrown out. "Okay, okay! I'm leaving!" There was no point in staying there anyway. She made her point, and Kenji learned his lesson. He was bound to come and find her. To add to that, she was able to humiliate him in front of his friends and family, and she was feeling rather proud of it. She was not generally a hateful person, but he hurt Naoko, and she wasn't going to let that slide. "Alright, I'm going!" Sakura repeated as she tried to push the uniformed men surrounding her. "What the..." She abruptly stopped when she realized that they were, in fact, not letting her get away. "Hey! What are you doing? Let me go!"

"... You..."

A deadly voice halted Sakura from her protests. She swiftly turned around and came face to face with one hot gorgeous man – an incredibly angry gorgeous man to be specific.

"Who the hell are you?" He gritted out.

Sakura wanted to ask the same thing, but she noticed his clothes... and that was when she realized... she was in deep trouble. Oh, shit.

This man was the one who stood by the altar... This man was the one she threw insults at... And fuck... this man was not Kenji.

'Oh, god.' Sakura gulped. She ruined the wrong wedding! She made a very, very fatal mistake. But – but how could this happen? She was informed that the wedding would take place here!

"Answer me!" The man lashed out.

She was starting to get fearful. 'Oh, no...' Was it really her fault? They were about to start, and she was so freaking desperate to stop it. They were throwing her out so she didn't have any other choice but to expose it in a public manner!

The man stepped closer to her, making her wince. "Who –" his amber eyes were flashing dangerously. "– Are –" his voice was full of venom. "– You?"

Sakura shivered lightly. Aside from feeling scared, she felt her energy being drained from her previous tirade. She knew she needed to get away. She didn't want to face the wrath of this man. "I – I..." She frantically looked around for a chance to escape. However, that was when she noticed the huge sign placed near the door.

She froze.

_Li-Daidouji Nuptial_

Oh, fuck.

Yeah, she crashed the wrong wedding alright.

... And just her luck, this wasn't any ordinary wedding. She just successfully ruined the union of the two most influential families in the country.

Double fuck.

What else could Sakura do? She fainted.

* * *

AN: As you can tell, Sakura will be a little feisty in this one. The others, well... you just have to wait and see. Please, please review! :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Destined**

Author's Note: Wow... that was such a warm welcome. Thank you everyone! I was supposed to upload this yesterday, but for some reason, I can't log-in. Oh well. And oh yeah, I have to say this now, if you know me (if you've read _Deeper_), you know it's not all fun all the time. I'm trying to lighten things up, though. ;)

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

Chapter 2

* * *

"Tomoyo! Wait!"

Tomoyo gasped, but she didn't glance back. Instead, she rattled on quick instruction to her stunned driver to bring her to the airport, while simultaneously trying to fit her ball gown skirt into the car and wiping away her tears.

"No, stop!" Eriol was only a few steps behind. Damn, only Tomoyo can run that fast in a heavily-beaded wedding dress. He didn't even want to think about the heels.

"Leave me alone!" Tomoyo tried to close the car door, but Eriol was already by her side, preventing her from doing so.

Eriol, decked in his best man suit, was trying to soothe her. "Tomoyo, please, calm down. I know you're upset, but let's talk about this. Please, step out –"

"No!" She struggled to close the door again, but Eriol was stronger. "Go away!"

It was heartbreaking to watch such a lovely young woman suffer from pain. Though she was trying to stop it, the tears just kept on falling.

"Tomoyo –"

"Is it true?" She threw it out there. "What the woman said back there – is it true?" She was starting to break down, but she managed to hold herself together. Tomoyo was always the composed and graceful one, even if it was just a façade – which sadly, Eriol could see right through. "I know he's your best friend, but be honest to me. Is it true?"

"No," Eriol shook his head. "No, I don't think it's true." He urged her softly, "And I'm your friend and he's your friend, too. You know he'll never do that to you."

"I... I know," Tomoyo whispered. "I just... I don't – I don't know what to do anymore."

"Look, I don't know what happened, but I'm sure there's an explanation. You should talk to him –"

"Stop..." Tomoyo cut him off. "Stop it." Just having this conversation was too much for her already. It was taking a lot from her to not turn into a hysterical mess. And that was unacceptable because she was never a mess.

"No, listen –"

"Do you even see him here?" She finally stated. This time, Eriol didn't know what to say. Tomoyo looked past him, and if possible, she seemed more crushed. "He's not here..."

"He... he'll come..."

"He's not even here," Tomoyo repeated as if Eriol hadn't spoken.

"He's just trying to settle things with the guests. I think he's also confronting the intruder –"

"No, don't." She shook her head, silently begging him to stop it. "Don't make excuses for him, Eriol." Her words were starting to break.

"I..." Eriol clenched his fist. He didn't know how he could make this better, or at least, bearable to her. She was terribly hurt, and he knew there was nothing he could do. "Tomoyo, please..."

"Just leave me be." She turned to look straight ahead, but he could clearly see the continuous flow of her tears. "I need to be alone." Her face became blank, and her tone was dead. She might seem unfeeling at this moment, but Eriol knew it was only because this was her breaking point.

"Tomoyo..."

"Enough, Eriol."

He hated that Tomoyo chose that time to bring her instilled noble personality into the situation because his own kicked in. It made him feel disrespectful by ignoring her wish to be left alone.

Eriol straightened immediately. "Just... just please let us know you're safe," he requested before closing the car door. The car started moving away, but his eyes never left it. Through her silhouette, he finally saw Tomoyo's perfect posture crumble – her shoulders hunched and her head bowed down.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Sakura blinked blearily. Where the hell was she? "Ugh..." She groaned. Why was she feeling woozy? Why was she on a bed?

"She's awake."

She sat up quickly, which proved to be a wrong move because it brought another dizzy spell. Sakura massaged her temple, while trying to inconspicuously glance around the room. There were two big men by the door, and one of them was talking on his phone. She figured that he was the one who spoke earlier. These men didn't seem to be as hostile as Gorgeous Man, but they were not exactly welcoming either.

Wait.

Gorgeous Man. Groom. Wedding.

Everything came back at once, and she groaned again at the onslaught of information. Information she wished she could forget. Wait... maybe she could pretend to have amnesia or something. She fainted right? Maybe she fell on her head. But... there was no blood, no bumps, no physical pain. Crap.

"Where am I?" Sakura slowly swung her legs to one side of the bed. She wanted to add 'who am I', but one look at those muscles made her reconsider.

"At one of the rooms inside the church."

Oh. That was...

No, that wasn't comforting.

She peeked again at the two men by the door. Sakura knew that there was no way she could get past them. "Do you really need to keep me here?" She asked, but this time, she got no answer. She also knew that they would not be answering any of her questions anymore.

Sakura was still busy contemplating when the door was thrown open. In walked Gorgeous Man, and the two huge men – bodyguards, most likely – went out. They were alone now, and she didn't like this one bit. He still looked furious.

'Oh please, let me faint again, let me –' Sakura squeaked when he seized her arm roughly. She felt electricity coursed through her body, but she wasn't able to dwell on that because Gorgeous Man was glaring at her full force.

"Who the hell are you? What the fuck do you want?!"

Sakura might be afraid, but his tight grip was starting to hurt her, and that was not okay. "Let me go!" She struggled. "You're hurting me!"

Gorgeous Man looked surprised for a second. He let go instantly, but his hands clutched the edge of the bed. She was caged in between his arms, and the message was clear: she was not going anywhere until he got his answers.

"What are you trying to pull? Who sent you?!"

Sakura was confused for a moment. Who sent her? Why would he ask that type of question? Suddenly, she came to her own conclusion. "What do you mean who sent me? Does that mean you got another girl pregnant? Oh wow, this is rich! Good thing I stopped the wedding then!"

"Pregnant?" He looked at her incredulously. "Why do you keep insisting that I knocked somebody else up?"

"You're certainly not denying it!"

"You're merely twisting my words!"

"I am not! I'm just stating my own observation!"

"You have no right! And I damn well don't owe you any explanation!"

"You can't –"

Sakura's retort was cut short by a cough from the side. The couple twisted to see a dark-haired man looking pointedly at the both of them. Sakura turned forward again, and she was surprised to see that her face and Gorgeous Man's face were only inches apart. Both of them had unconsciously leaned closer during their bickering. Gorgeous Man apparently noticed it, too, because he immediately stepped back.

"Eriol."

"She left, Syaoran."

Gorgeous Man, who Sakura now know as Syaoran, ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "Damn it." Syaoran's eyes darted back towards her. "This is all your fault!"

Sakura was immobilized by his piercing stare.

Eriol decided to intervene. "First things first, what's your name?"

She thought of lying again, but she knew that they would catch it. "Sakura. Kinomoto Sakura."

"So, about your friend who got pregnant –"

"Geez! I got no one pregnant, okay!" Syaoran growled. "Isn't it obvious? That little girl is just looking for ways to snitch some money off us!"

"Hey!" Sakura started to protest that she was not a blackmailing, money-hungry bitch like he was implying. And what if she was wearing an unflattering x-men t-shirt? She was not a little girl! "And besides, you're the one who's asking weird questions about who sent me!"

"I just want to know who your contact is!" Syaoran exclaimed. "I thought I put this event on media black out. Fuck it." He turned to Sakura. "Who do you work for?" He wanted to get to the bottom of this. He wanted to know if she was just some measly reporter looking for a big break, or someone sent by some rivals who were against the merger of the two families. "What the hell do you want?"

"Nothing!" Sakura got defensive again. "I just, um... I..." She was still thinking of ways to make 'I thought it was another wedding' sound acceptable when her stomach grumbled. After all that drama, she still hadn't eaten. Would it be too bad if she asked where the reception was supposed to be? She was already on their hit list after all.

Syaoran fired another question. "How'd you get in?"

"Err yeah, about that..." She fidgeted. Sakura knew that it would not help her case if she told them that she lied and manipulated her way in.

"Oh fuck, so now you have nothing to say?" Syaoran's messy hair was messier than usual because he kept running his hands through it. "Now you decided to finally shut up? Are you freaking serious?" He stared at her in aggravation. "You are so infuriating!"

"Slit your wrist, it will lower your blood pressure," Sakura muttered under her breath. Unfortunately for her, Syaoran caught it.

Instead of glowering at her, Syaoran just shut his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, he eyed Sakura from head to foot. Needless to say, it made her uncomfortable. After some consideration, he finally asked, "Do I know you?" He was not in the mood to deal with some jealous, obsessed, unable to move on – he breathed deep again. "Did we have a one-night-stand or something? Because I stopped doing that shit years ago –"

"What?! No!" Sakura's whole body instantly flushed. "No! That's just – no!" She finally understood the deliberate once-over he gave her. He was judging her appearance, and apparently, she passed. She didn't know whether to feel pleased or offended. Sure, he was unbelievingly hot, extremely attractive, undeniably sexy – but anyway! The attitude – uh, hello? So not prince charming. 'God, I don't even know you.'

"What?"

Sakura's eyes widened when she realized that she said that out loud.

"What do you mean you don't even know me?" His voice was low and that scared Sakura even more. "Are you mental? So what, you just go around and spend your free time ruining people's wedding and spewing bullshit –"

"I made a mistake, okay!"

She was finally fed up of Syaoran. Yes, she made a mistake, but she was honestly willing to fix it. However, he gave her no chance. He kept throwing accusations after accusations at her. Sure she had no right to expect that they treat her nicely, but even she could tell that Syaoran was being exceptionally rude. Eriol was not giving off a friendly vibe either, but his behavior was nowhere near Syaoran's. The latter was just... argh.

Sakura didn't want to give him another opportunity to interrupt so she continued right away. "My friend got pregnant, and she found out that her cheating ass of a boyfriend was lying to her all along and that he was getting married – today! And he told her this place, and oh god..." Her face suddenly paled when a new realization struck her. "That bastard is probably off somewhere else marrying some poor unsuspecting woman!" She buried her face in her hands. "Oh, no..." Not only did she ruin an important event, but she also failed Naoko. "I'm sorry..." Her miserable voice was muffled by her hands. Slowly, she placed them down and looked at Syaoran. "I'm sorry. Just let me talk to the bride. I'll explain everything – just bring me to her. I'll even go out there and explain to the guests." She was willing to embarrass herself and explain to the hundreds of people out there her nutcase behavior earlier. "I'm really, really sorry."

Syaoran just sat down on one of the chairs. He was evidently tired, too. He looked at her intently, trying to gauge her real motive, but all he could see was honesty and regret over her actions. She was truly sincere in her apology.

"Just bring me to the bride," Sakura requested again. "We can still save this wedding, right?"

"No, it's too late," Eriol spoke after a moment.

Sakura saw a strange expression cross Eriol's feature, but she wasn't sure what it was. Shrugging it off, she went back to the matter at hand. "What do you mean too late? A long time couldn't have passed. I was out, what, ten minutes?"

"Around an hour and a half," Eriol supplied, surprising her. "And with the arguing earlier, I'd say you've been here for about two hours. The guests are gone. Tomoyo's gone."

"Tomoyo? The bride...?"

Eriol nodded. "Yeah."

"Then come on! Let's go after her. I have to explain."

"No, you've done enough," Syaoran scoffed.

Sakura bit back her nasty comment. He did have the right to still be angry at her. "Then what are you still doing here? I told you the truth – go and tell her then!"

"Weren't you listening?" He glared again. "She's gone. She jumped on her private plane and flew somewhere else."

"So? Go after her," Sakura pointed out, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You're rich, right? Then go jump on your own private jet, too!" Was she missing something here? Why did she feel like she was more enthusiastic than them to bring her back?

"Look, you don't know her. She needs time. She does that. She'll come back when her mind is clear."

Sakura was stunned for a second. So... that was it? Seriously, that was it? They wait for her to return? "What if she doesn't..." Sakura trailed off when she noticed that Eriol was clenching his fist. "Hey, are you..."

Eriol's expression straightened. "Tomoyo's going to come back," he answered her first unfinished question. "She always does."

Sakura's brow furrowed. Was that bitterness she heard? Judging by that calm front, she thought that she was imagining things. But when she saw Syaoran narrow his eyes, Sakura knew that it was, in fact, there. Syaoran had detected the undertone, too.

Desperate to distract herself from the tension mounting in the room, she looked for her phone. Thank goodness it was still securely tucked in her pocket. Flipping it open, she saw that she had one message. It was from Chiharu.

_Sakura, where r u?! I'm goin mad here. Kenji is w/ Naoko, and they're both cryin and I don't know what's happening! What the hell is goin on?! – C_

She reread the message. Wait – how can he – what did that... huh? Kenji was there? Chiharu was right... what the hell was going on?

Sakura knew that she needed to get home now. She slid off the bed and cleared her throat to get their attention. "Um..." Both men still hadn't moved from where they were. They seemed to be lost in their own thoughts, and it was obvious that their discussion with her was over. When did it exactly end? She wasn't sure, but it suddenly and completely did.

"Where are you going?"

She stiffened in her spot. Sakura wasn't aware that she was inching closer to the door, but her action obviously alerted Syaoran. "I need to get home," she answered truthfully. 'And I seriously need to eat,' she added mentally. She was feeling a little wobbly on her feet.

Sakura took a quick look around the room and spotted some pen and paper by the desk. Determinedly, she walked towards it and scribbled her number on the notepad before ripping it off. She marched to Syaoran and held out the piece of paper. He sure was gorgeous, but definitely obnoxious.

"I know you said she's gone, and you made it clear that you don't want my help, but if you change your mind, here's my number." When he made no move to take it, Sakura reached for his hand and slammed the paper on his palm – all the while ignoring the strange flow of electricity when her hand touched his. "Just take it, Gorgeo–" She abruptly shut her mouth, and heat flooded her cheeks when she realized that her earlier nickname for him slipped out.

And for the first time since Sakura laid her eyes on him, Syaoran was not scowling. He looked... amused?

'Glad I entertain you in this screwed up situation,' Sakura thought dryly. She was now one hundred percent certain that this was, indeed, a screwed up circumstance.

Their reaction to the turn of events was not what Sakura would consider normal. Something was wrong here, and it was either they refused to acknowledge it or they simply accepted it or she just didn't understand what it was. Nonetheless, Sakura would leave the ball in his court. It was not in her nature to simply turn her back on something like this so she gave him her number. It was now up to him.

However, if they still didn't want the help she offered – like Syaoran made clear earlier – then she wasn't going to force herself in it anymore. She started the mess, but it seemed like they were only creating a bigger one out of it. They had a weird way of dealing with things. If they didn't want to involve her, then that was fine. She had other problems to deal with, anyway.

"I'm leaving," Sakura announced before turning towards the door. Yeah, well, at least her exit was peaceful.

* * *

"Come on, Sakura," Chiharu poked her side. "It's been two weeks. Lighten up! Naoko already gave him a second chance. You should just let it go, too."

Sakura simply grunted in response as they continued their walk along the street.

"I mean, don't you think you're taking this grudge against Kenji a bit too far?"

"Not really, I've only spit in his face three times," Sakura replied sarcastically. At Chiharu's wide eyes, she groaned. "I'm kidding."

"I wouldn't put it past you at this point," Chiharu snorted. "You literally give him the chills whenever he visits Naoko. Try to cut him some slack."

"I'd rather cut something else."

Chiharu chuckled. "Seriously though, Naoko's opinion is the one that really matters. You're just causing yourself some unnecessary stress."

"I just don't get it," Sakura sighed. "How could she be so willing to welcome him back in her life when he almost left her –"

"She loves him."

"So that's it? Reasons don't exist anymore? I mean, he almost got married –"

"But he didn't," Chiharu pointed out. "He didn't go through his wedding and came back to Naoko. He realized that Naoko is the one who he really loves."

"If he loves her, then he shouldn't have done the things he did! There's no excuse. He lied, he cheated, he –"

"Made a mistake. And he's going to make it up to her for the rest of his life." Chiharu linked their arms together. "Sakura, he's not perfect."

"No shit, Sherlock."

"But no man is."

Sakura resorted to grunting again.

"So now, can we please move past this?" Chiharu raised a brow at her. "Because I feel like I'm defending him, and it's not sitting well with me. Believe it or not, I'm still put out by him."

"But you're just choosing to accept Naoko's decision and support her," Sakura finished, earning herself a slight squeeze.

"Exactly. I knew you would get it."

"Yeah, well, you sucked at defending him." Sakura kicked some imaginary dirt. "Fine. I'll try to make his visits a little less miserable. No more cornering him and telling him little tales about situations that could accidentally put his life in danger."

Chiharu halted mid–step.

"Um, no, I'm not kidding about that one." Sakura shrugged nonchalantly. "I do that every time Naoko goes to the kitchen to make her odd afternoon snack." She paused briefly. "And man, I do mean odd! Seriously, is it normal for a pregnant woman to crave for –" Sakura cut herself off when she noticed that Chiharu was shaking. "Chiharu! Are you okay? Are you hurt? Are you hyperventilating?"

That caused Chiharu to shake even more. "No – shit, no!" Laughter continued to explode from her form. "Damn girl! You really – oh gosh! I don't –" She was gasping for breath and trying to string a coherent sentence through her laughter. "I can't believe you were doing that!" She wiped the side of her eyes. "You were actually making daily threats to Kenji? No wonder the man looks like he's about to piss on himself whenever you're in the room! Oh my..." Chiharu let out a huge breath. "Sakura, you're one crazy chick!"

"So I've been told," Sakura grumbled as they started walking again.

After calming herself, Chiharu started again. "Although, I have to admit, you're being remarkably sensitive to the whole Kenji issue."

Sakura's mouth formed into a tight line. Of course she was sensitive! She destroyed something else because of it. However, they knew nothing because she didn't tell them about what happened. They assumed nothing did because Kenji came to the apartment. Sakura didn't bother to correct them. It was not their burden to bear. Besides, there was no news or anything about it. That made her wonder how they kept it a secret. Then again, she remembered Gorgeous Man saying something about a blackout. With how controlling he was, it should be no surprise that they pulled it off. That obnoxious, overbearing –

Chiharu broke her thought. "I mean, I know you have created this image of your perfect man –"

"I have not."

"Uh-huh, sure." Chiharu rolled her eyes. "Anyway, so Kenji didn't meet your standards, but Naoko loves him. If you love someone, you just do, you know? Standards just don't exist."

Sakura stubbornly kept her mouth shut. Although Chiharu correctly guessed the reason why she was still wary of Kenji, she just let her friend think that it was the sole basis.

"Oh," Chiharu paused in front of a pastry shop. "Is it okay if we stop by here? They have Takashi's favorite –"

Sakura waved of her explanation. "Of course, it's okay. I'll come with." She spotted a café a couple of blocks away. "Wait, I'm craving for some latte, so how about I meet you out here instead?"

"Sure, that's fine."

"I'll be just a minute." She continued on her way, and Sakura soon found herself paying for her purchase. She was moving to the side to wait for her drink when she saw Eriol step in.

Sakura froze. And then panicked.

What was she supposed to do?! They didn't contact her so that meant they didn't want anything to do with her anymore, right? So what now? Should she ignore him? Should she ask what happened? She really wanted to know, but she wasn't sure how she would be received. What if they cause a scene?

Eriol was scanning the area, and before his head could turn towards her direction, Sakura ducked. She instantly slapped her forehead. 'What the hell am I doing?!'

The people sitting at the table closest to her shot her weird looks. She pretended not to see them. She also pretended that they didn't inch away from her.

Sakura cursed when she heard her name. Her drink was ready, but how would she get there? Eriol was still close by. She took a quick look around. If she moved closer to the windows, he wouldn't see her. She could just grab her latte and then bolt out.

'Alright, I'm coming!' She internally answered when her name was called again. Sakura crawled slowly to her right while acting as if there was nothing strange with a girl on her hands and knees on the floor of a coffee shop. Nope, nothing creepy at all. 'Almost there...' She moved out of the way when some high school girl almost stepped on her.

"Watch it, weirdo!"

Sakura moved away again and just settled for a glare. She would snap back, but she just wanted to be out of there as soon as possible.

The girl huffed and shot her a dirty look before finally going.

Sakura couldn't help it, "Bitch." Facing forward, she continued her mortifying journey. However, what greeted her was a pair of legs covered in black slacks. The person was sitting before her. 'Crap.' Apparently, her slight detour led her to a table and its occupant. In the corner of her eye, she saw that Eriol was still standing in line. 'Thank God.'

She looked up.

'Or not.'

Amber eyes stared back at her.

Sakura crossed her fingers. 'Please don't let him remember, please don't let him –'

"You."

Yeah, that was too much to ask. After all, what she did was utterly unforgettable. "Yeah, me," Sakura tried to sound bored so he wouldn't make a big deal out of it. She would fake check her nails to complete the act, but it was rather hard to pull off when she was kneeling between his legs.

"... What... the fuck are you doing?"

"Uh..." She swallowed. "Looking for my earring."

Syaoran snorted at the obvious lie. Aside from Sakura's stiff back, twitching fingers, forced tone and inability to look straight in the eye, the evidence was glaring back at him. He pointed wryly, "You're wearing them." Her hair was pulled back so he was able to see it.

'Damn it!' Sakura gave him an annoyed look. "Yeah well, you don't know where else I'm pierced so you don't get to judge!"

He grunted. "Then I don't even want to know how you lost it in the first place."

Sakura started to get nervous. The situation she was trying to avoid with Eriol inevitably found her. "So... um..." She raked her brains for something to say, but in the end, she decided to just dive in. "I hope things are fine now. You have to know that I'm still sorry about that, and if there's still anything I can do –"

"Listen –"

Sakura's irritation flared up in an instant. She was trying to be nice, and once more, he was being rude! "No, you listen! I'm sincere in helping and I really do want to know how things are. I feel so bad about it, and I just can't – what?!" Sakura growled when she noticed that he was avoiding her gaze.

"Nothing, just..." He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Can you stand up?" It was rather disconcerting that she offered to do anything for him while in that compromising position.

Oh. "Oh." As if on cue, Sakura turned bright red. As if things weren't bad enough already! Was it also too much to ask for the floor to just open up and swallow her whole? She was practically lying on it – it didn't have to open much!

Sakura staggered to her feet, ignoring the looks she was getting. Whatever high she was on a minute ago... died a minute ago.

Syaoran let out a resigned sigh before standing up, too. "If you really want to know, she's back now. You can stop feeling guilty."

Before she could open her mouth to respond, Eriol was beside them. "Oh, Sakura, right?" He sounded polite. "I'm Eriol."

Sakura simply nodded. She knew that saying 'nice to meet you' wouldn't be... err, nice. Welcome to awkward situation number... yeah, she lost count.

Eriol looked back and forth between them. "So have you asked her yet?"

"No. And you won't either."

"What do you mean? Why?"

"Forget it. It doesn't have to happen."

'Yeah, forget me, why don't you?' Sakura scrunched up her face. 'Sure, talk like I'm not even here.'

"But Tomoyo wanted to see her."

"She doesn't need to. She already knows the story."

"What would you tell her then?"

'Yeah, go on, just keep on ignoring me. I'm having such a lovely time standing here like an idiot anyway –'

Syaoran's brow furrowed. "... What are you doing?"

Sakura froze in her internal tirade. It slipped her mind that she make expressive faces and do hand gestures when she ranted. God, like they didn't have enough to question her mental stability!

"Uh..."

"So," Eriol coughed, saving her from experiencing another awful moment. "Tomoyo wanted to meet you."

Numerous questions instantly popped up inside her head, but Sakura readily agreed. "Okay, that's fine." This was her one chance to make it up to the bride. Even if Tomoyo was angry at her, she would deal with it... as long as they meet somewhere public where no serious body harm can be inflicted.

"Don't worry, she's not mad. She just wanted to talk," Eriol assured her. "It's a good thing we bumped into each other. We weren't sure how to reach you."

Sakura stared back in confusion. "I left my number with him." She pointed to Syaoran.

"I threw it the same day." He shrugged casually.

Sakura's eyes instantly narrowed.

"How about you give it to me, and I'll pass it to Tomoyo?" Eriol suggested. He handed Sakura his phone.

"How about we don't do this?" Syaoran interrupted.

Sakura glared at him. He didn't want her around, and he wasn't being subtle about it. That just rubbed her the wrong way. With a pointed look, Sakura took the phone and saved her number. "Here. Just tell her to call me about the details. I have to go." She swiftly turned around and walked away. However, at the last second, she couldn't resist. She faced Syaoran and stuck her tongue out. 'Ass!'

When she was finally out of the establishment, Sakura took a lungful of air. She didn't even want to think about the nightmare that occurred in there. With heavy feet, she dragged herself back to the pastry shop.

"Sakura!" Chiharu instantly bounded to her side. "What took you so long?"

"Uh... um... long line."

"Oh, so you didn't want to wait anymore?" Chiharu eyed Sakura's empty hand.

'Crap!' Sakura cursed inwardly. After all that, she still didn't get her latte. Uh... hello? She freaking crawled for that thing! It was so unfair!

Why, oh why, was the world so cruel to her?

* * *

AN: So yeah, SxS will be at each other's throat. ;) And most of the story will be from Sakura's view, so not much perspective from other characters until later. Although, I've already hinted their flaws. Please review!

By the way, I'll be out of the country at the end of the month, but I'll try to squeeze in a chapter or two before that. LOL. The one time I wanted to stay home, I was offered a trip. I refused, but they were persistent. But seriously, who refuses an all expenses paid trip? ;D

Review, review!


	3. Chapter 3

**Destined**

Author's Note: Didn't take me that long, right? But uh... don't get used to it. LOL. Thank you again! I'm happy to know you like the story so far. Thanks guys! And if you have questions, feel free to ask. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

Chapter 3

* * *

"Hi. You're Sakura, right?"

A melodic voice reached Sakura's ears, and she mentally braced herself for the onslaught. Verbal or physical attack, she was ready. 'Anytime now.'

"I'm Tomoyo."

Sakura flinched slightly. 'Here it comes.'

"Oh... sorry. I must have gotten the wrong person." There was hesitance before the voice suddenly took a concern tone. "Hey, are you okay?"

Sakura blinked. "Uh..." Tomoyo was genuinely worried. 'Crap.' She congratulated herself for successfully making another idiotic impression. "Uh... I'm Sakura. I'm fine." 'Damn it! Could I sound anymore retarded?'

"Hey, it's alright. If you're not feeling well, we can always meet some other time."

"No, no," Sakura shook her head. How could Tomoyo be so nice? Her approach was totally different from what Sakura was expecting – especially after meeting Syaoran. "It's okay. I'm okay." 'Just a little bit paranoid. And a lot more neurotic.'

"If you're sure..."

Sakura nodded this time. "Yeah." She finally allowed herself to look at the woman who was taking a seat on the stool next to her. Tomoyo was... beautiful. Sakura couldn't think of anything else to describe her. Her long, shiny, dark hair contrasted greatly to her pale, smooth skin. Her features were soft, and she seemed to be glowing even in the dim light of the hotel bar.

"Is there anything you want?"

"Oh, um, I'm good. Thanks." Drinking anything remotely alcoholic didn't really appeal to her before ten o'clock in the morning. Besides, she didn't think it was good idea because she hadn't eaten anything yet. Due to nerves, she decided to skip on breakfast. "Um, Miss Daidouji –"

"Please," Tomoyo laughed gently as the bartender served her cocktail. "Call me Tomoyo."

"Okay then... Tomoyo." Sakura gave a small smile in return. "I... I just wanted to take this chance to apologize to you personally. I'm really sorry about what I did. I know it wouldn't change anything, but I –"

"Sakura," Tomoyo cut her off kindly. "It's fine. I forgive you." She paused. "It's actually the reason why I wanted to meet you. I want you to know that I'm not blaming you for anything."

Sakura was speechless. She was forgiven? Just like that? She was prepared to grovel!

"I wanted to tell you that myself so that you'll believe me," Tomoyo continued. "I just know that you're beating yourself up over it, and I don't want you to do that. I don't want people feeling bad because of me."

"But I..." Sakura felt worse now. Tomoyo was such a caring person, and she couldn't believe that she destroyed an important moment in her life. "How can you forgive me so easily?"

"I know you didn't mean it. I know you're a good person." At Sakura's puzzled look, she explained, "Syaoran told me that you did it for your friend. And for someone who was willing to do that – wow. You were willing to go to such length for your friend. Your loyalty... it amazes me."

"But... but I ruined your wedding..."

"It was the unfortunate result," Tomoyo sighed before her eyes widened slightly. "I just can't believe I slapped Syaoran. I know he would never do that, but it was just the heat of the moment, you know."

"I'm sorry..." Even though Sakura wanted to hit Syaoran, she could clearly see that Tomoyo was remorseful for that action.

"It was my hand, not yours," Tomoyo tried to placate her. "By the way, how's your friend?"

Sakura attempted to relax. Tomoyo was sincere in knowing. "Her boyfriend didn't go through the wedding. As it turned out, he was supposed to get married at the registry office right across the church." She cringed at the memory. "I'm sorry."

Tomoyo shook her head. "Stop with the apology."

"But I can't apologize enough," Sakura lowered her head. "I ruined your day. Your wedding day. You perfect day." She clenched her fist that was on her lap. "And you couldn't even say that it was for a good cause. I achieved nothing. I only –"

"Sakura..."

"I even made you go away."

"I always do that." Tomoyo placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder to make her look up. "Stop blaming yourself. You didn't mean harm. You had good intentions."

Sakura couldn't believe it. It was her turn to be amazed. Tomoyo was just so nice and compassionate. Totally unlike her husband-to-be. 'Wow. What did she ever see in him?'

"What was that?"

"Uh..." Sakura mentally slapped herself. She needed to have better control over her thoughts. She needed not to say it. "It's just that... you're so kind, and um... well, Li is..." She trailed off, not really sure how to finish.

Tomoyo just laughed. "Syaoran can be intimidating –"

'More like infuriating,' Sakura wanted to say, but she wisely kept her mouth shut this time. She had to admit, she was scared witless when she first saw him. Syaoran just riled her up so much, so she got over it. But still, furious Li Syaoran... no, thanks.

"– but he's a wonderful guy once you get to know him."

Sakura was doubtful. "How long since you've known him?"

"Since forever."

Oh.

Tomoyo smiled fondly. "We grew up together, along with Eriol. The three of us were inseparable."

"Must be nice," Sakura commented absently. "To have friends with you who were there from the beginning." Of course Sakura had plenty of friends, but none of them she had for long. When she was younger, she used to move around a lot because of her father's job, so it was kind of hard to keep in touch. It was only when she was in high school did she settle at one place – with her brother, Touya. Then she went away again after college.

"Not all the time," Tomoyo grimaced. "Growing up, they were so protective of me. We're the same age, but I swear, they were worse than my mother."

"I can relate to that." Sakura chuckled. "I have an older brother. He took his role so seriously, it wasn't even funny. I guess it was worse for you since you had two."

"Not really, but in a way, yes."

Sakura blinked back, confused. "Huh?"

"Well, you see, Eriol has always been a friend. Even when they entered that protectiveness stage, he did it in a friendly manner. But Syaoran..." Tomoyo rolled her eyes. "God, he treated me like a little sister for the longest time! But I have liked him as so much more for as long as I can remember. Every little thing he did, every gesture, every gift – I treasured them all."

Sakura grinned at her dreamy tone. "It was good that things changed between you, then."

"It wasn't an easy battle, believe me." Tomoyo chuckled. "I remember feeling guilty all the time because I used to plot against him. Like in high school, I used to flirt with few of the guys to make him jealous – nothing! He didn't even notice. It was, like, I was dealing with a brick wall!"

Sakura winced. "Ouch."

"No, that wasn't even the ouch part. He dated this one girl – she was a year older than us – on and off for the majority of high school. I really hated her because she was mostly the reason why Syaoran didn't notice my advances. But anyway, when she went away to university, I thought I had my chance. But no..."

"They didn't break up?"

"They did, eventually. Syaoran broke it off. And being the lovesick girl that I was thought it was for me. But he ended it because he... he just..." Tomoyo bit her lip. For a fraction of a second, Sakura lost sight of the confident woman. Tomoyo suddenly seemed vulnerable, but it was gone away in an instant. "He can't prioritize her."

Sakura remained quiet. She didn't know what to say.

Tomoyo just shrugged it off. "Gosh, I remember dying every time he was with a new girl after that! I hated that phase."

Sakura blushed slightly when she remembered the one-night-stand question Syaoran posed.

"He had his reasons, though..." Tomoyo whispered, and Sakura wasn't sure if she was meant to hear it or not. Before she could say anything, Tomoyo let out a low laugh. "I can't even remember the number of vacations I took back then!"

"You, um, always do that?" Sakura didn't mean to pry, but it felt like this was some sort of a normal occurrence to them.

"Run away? Yes." Tomoyo nodded, almost sadly. "And I know it's not right, but I've been doing it for so long, and I just..."

Sakura didn't want to make her uncomfortable, and it was obvious that she was at the moment. Redirecting the topic, Sakura asked, "So, what happened then?"

"Hmm... ah... Eriol got mad at me for this one," Tomoyo reminisced. "It was around sophomore year in university. I was dying of hurt and jealousy and misery, so I told Syaoran that I liked Eriol – just to get a reaction out from him or something! I was desperate, but then... he just smiled at me and told me he was happy for me. It was what killed me the most because all I saw was honesty. He was really happy for me."

"Oh, Tomoyo..." Sakura wanted to comfort the other girl, but she wasn't sure how to go on about it. She had only met Tomoyo for less than an hour, but she already felt some sort of bond towards her.

"After that, Syaoran used to push me and Eriol together all the time. Eriol knew how I felt for Syaoran, and he didn't like what I was doing so things were strained between us, too." Tomoyo closed her eyes for a moment before continuing. "Then, Syaoran started to drift away because he was giving me time or whatever with Eriol. That was when I had enough. I moved away. I finished my studies in Europe, and didn't contact the both of them for more than three years."

"That must have been hard," Sakura empathized. "Being away from the people who are most important to you."

"Extremely hard," Tomoyo agreed. "But it was worth it in the end. I changed and came back. Syaoran and Eriol..." She furrowed her brows, "... they changed, too..." She suddenly shook her head and smiled brightly. "And now, here I am, no longer Syaoran's little sister!"

"And soon, his wife," Sakura added, making Tomoyo beam. "By the way, when's the new wedding date? Just tell me where, and I'll avoid that place at all cost." She mused, "Or maybe, I'll be there as a guard. Any crasher would have to get through me first."

Tomoyo just gave a small smile. "We haven't really discussed it. We haven't set up a new date yet."

"Oh, I see." Sakura nodded before pondering out loud, "I guess it's because you have to make new reservations again. But I'm sure it can get organized in no time."

Tomoyo only managed to offer a shrug in return. "I guess." She looked at her watch. "Oh! I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to keep you." She looked apologetic. "I'm sorry to have bored you with my story."

"No, no, it's okay," Sakura reassured before smiling embarrassedly. "And I kind of love listening to love stories, anyway." She turned sheepish, "Although yours was bordering on tragic."

Tomoyo just laughed, guaranteeing Sakura that she took no offense. "Hey, if it's okay with you, I like to meet up again." She wanted to take this chance to befriend Sakura. Growing up with two gorgeous guys didn't really allow her to have that many genuine girl friends. But with Sakura, there were no pretensions. She could see sincerity in Sakura's refreshing personality. "It's just that... I feel light with you. I don't know, but it's like I've known you for a long time and I can tell you everything."

"I like that, too." Sakura was glad because she felt the same way towards Tomoyo.

"And next time, it's your turn to tell your story!"

Sakura grinned at her enthusiasm. "Sorry to break it to you, but I have to tell you now that there's no story to share."

"Oh, hush. Don't be modest," Tomoyo scolded good-naturedly. "I'm sure guys are lining up to meet you. You're a very pretty girl."

Sakura blushed at the compliment.

"Oh, I have to go now," Tomoyo informed when her phone chimed. "Can you call me when you're free?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll see you soon."

After saying their goodbye, Sakura watched her walk away. At that moment, she made up her mind. She wanted to make Tomoyo happy. She inadvertently took away the special day that Tomoyo waited a long time for. She would do everything to give it back.

She psyched herself. She was willing to go through the worst kind of torture for it. 'And it starts now.'

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Sakura sat patiently – well, she was starting to get impatient – on one of the benches outside the high rise building where Li Industries' main office was located. It was noon now, which meant the sun was freaking up there, and still no sign of Li Syaoran. 'Come on, go get some lunch!' It suddenly occurred to her that Syaoran could easily have someone else get his lunch for him, or he could have it delivered, or he could simply eat food from the cafeteria. 'No, no!' Sakura decided not to dwell on it. 'He's going to go out.' She nodded determinedly. Besides, she was sitting there for god-knows-how-long now. Might as well continue to endure the sun's agonizing rays until the lunch hour was up.

It was about twenty minutes later when she spotted the man she was looking for. She quickly got up and jogged towards him.

"Hey, Li!" She called out, but she was not acknowledged. "Wait up!" Wow, the first time she was voluntarily seeking out his attention, she couldn't get it. "Hey!"

Syaoran finally glanced at her direction. However, before Sakura could take any step closer, one of those huge men blocked her.

"Oh, come on!" She let out an irritated sound. "Let me through."

"You."

Sakura forced herself to not glare at him. 'Be civil,' she reminded herself. But really, why did he keep insisting on calling her 'you'? Was 'Sakura' too arduous for him to say? "Yes, me," she gritted out. "And I have a name, you know. It's Sakura. I'd appreciate it if you use it."

Syaoran just stared back, as if to say 'Your point is?'

Yeah, civil – not working.

"I talked to Tomoyo earlier," she launched, effectively catching him off-guard. He obviously didn't know that. "Do you have a minute? I need to talk to you."

"What do you want?"

Sakura grunted. There was just something about him that made her react so strongly. He seemed to know how to push her button naturally. "Can we at least have this discussion somewhere else?"

"No, because that'll take long. I'm busy."

"And I don't really care. You'll make time." She gave him a pointed look. "I'm starving. Let's go have lunch. I saw a deli just around the corner."

Syaoran was left with no choice but to follow the force of nature, a.k.a. Sakura. He knew that she wasn't above dragging him, anyway.

"Geez, don't you get bothered with all these bodyguard stuffs?" Sakura glanced back. "I mean, they're like your shadows. They literally follow you everywhere! Isn't that annoying?"

"No, but you are."

"Oh, don't worry," Sakura smiled sweetly. "The feeling's mutual."

"Good to know," he muttered before answering, "I'm used to it." He gestured behind them. "They've been there for as long as I can remember."

She snorted. "I pity them, then. Having to spend all those time with you – oh, here we are!" Sakura bounced inside. She waited until they were seated and had given out their orders before speaking again. "So we have to talk about Tomoyo –"

"No, we don't," he replied firmly. "You're going to drop it."

"No, I won't," she shot back. "Because you're not doing a very good job of fixing things. You definitely need my help!"

"It's none of your business."

"Of course it is! If it weren't for me, you should still be on your honeymoon right now."

As Sakura continued to argue, she never once thought about how she was sitting there with an incredibly rich and attractive man, who was noticeably overdressed for the little establishment and who had bodyguards standing outside that were starting to intimidate other patrons. She was that dense sometimes.

"Just stay out of it."

"Why can't you just accept my help?"

"It's not that simple. You don't understand."

"Explain it to me then."

With a serious face, Syaoran leaned forward. Sakura found herself doing the same. "I would, but unfortunately, I don't have any crayons with me."

Her eyes widened at his little girl jab again. "Jesus! I'm 22, you know!"

"Could have fooled me."

"How old are you anyway?"

"25."

"Could have fooled me."

His eyes narrowed. "What does that supposed to mean?"

"Well... you look like your age, but you certainly act like an old man." Sakura huffed. "You're so grouchy all the time!"

"I am not."

"Sure you are! See?"

The waiter picked that moment to arrive and serve their food. Sakura's mouth instantly watered.

Syaoran raised a brow. "It's just a sandwich. Why are you so excited about it?"

"It doesn't take much to please me."

"But evidently, it takes a lot to shut you up. I haven't even accomplished that feat yet."

Sakura made a show of taking a huge bite and chewing loudly just to spite him.

"Gross."

She swallowed. "Well I'm sorry I'm not one of those ladies you're probably used to who takes dainty bites out of their salad. Ugh. I can only take so much leaf before throwing up."

"Yeah, I don't need the mental image. Thanks." He rolled his eyes before he started on his own lunch.

After awhile, Sakura started speaking again. "So Tomoyo told me you guys haven't arranged a new date yet." When Syaoran didn't offer more information, she decided to continue. "I figured maybe it was because of those bookings and schedules and all that, but I'm positive you have connections. You can work around it, right? And I'm not really sure, but I'm guessing you are your own boss so you handle your time, right? And then you can use the same wedding coordinator from before. She already knows what you want and what to do so it wouldn't take much. There's no reason for unnecessary delay. Oh! Maybe you'll encounter some conflict about the availability of your guests and sponsors. I'm talking about those influential, stuck-up – no offense, but you have to admit, it's true – people, but you can talk to –"

"Fuck!" Syaoran massaged his temple. "Kill me now."

"No, no! You can totally do this!"

"Can you just keep quiet? Or is that asking for too much?"

Sakura's mouth dropped open. 'Bastard! Jerk! Asshole! Prick!' She continued shooting him hostile looks while she ate. She slurped her drink noisily before slamming it down the table.

At this point, Syaoran wouldn't be surprised if Sakura lunged herself across the table. Damn, this woman was aggressive.

"So," Sakura cleared her throat when they were finished. "May I speak now?"

"As if I can stop you."

"Damn it! Are you always an ass? Or am I a special case?"

"Now that you mentioned it..."

Sakura chanted under her breath, "For Tomoyo, for Tomoyo, this is for Tomoyo." She took a deep breath. "What's stopping you from setting up a new date?"

"Me?"

"I kind of got the vibe from Tomoyo that she's just waiting for you."

He was silent again.

Sakura huffed. "You are so uncooperative!"

"Uh... for someone who doesn't want your help, what else do you expect?"

'Tomoyo, Tomoyo...' She repeated to herself silently. "Anyway, I was thinking –"

"Don't strain yourself."

Sakura wanted to scream and tear her hair out. Or better yet, tear his hair out and gouge his eyeballs with her bare hands. Now, that wasn't a bad plan.

"Okay, okay," Syaoran held his hands up in surrender. Instincts told him that he was in danger. That, and Sakura's expressive face gave it away.

"As I was saying," she paused, daring him to interrupt. "I think – no, I know that Tomoyo will love it if you surprise her with a proposal. She just seemed the type." Sakura smiled proudly at her idea. "Of course, you already know her answer, but still, this is like a new wedding. We should start it right! And besides, with this, she will be reassured. She needs that, you know." She paused. "So... how did you propose to her before? We have to top that one!"

When Syaoran simply shrugged, Sakura stood up. He watched cautiously as she walked around the table and sat on the seat next to him.

"I don't think you understand me," she started suspiciously calm, which made Syaoran wary. If she decided to attack, his bodyguards wouldn't be able to stop it on time. Even to defend himself, he wouldn't hit a girl – mental or not. "I'm not doing this for you. Hell, I'm not even doing this for myself to ease my conscience or whatever you think I'm doing this for."

Syaoran leaned back slightly. He was starting to think of ways to get himself safely out of the situation.

To his surprise, Sakura's voice softened, "I'm doing this for Tomoyo. I know I haven't known her long, but I can already tell that Tomoyo is a fantastic person. She doesn't deserve some mere rescheduling of her wedding as if it was just like any other business meeting." She took a deep breath. "Let's start over again. Do you want to make Tomoyo happy?"

"Yes."

"Finally!" She threw her hands up, not noticing that Syaoran flinched at the movement. "Something in common. Now, tell me, how did you propose?"

"I... I didn't."

Sakura's eyes widened. "What?" She asked incredulously. "What do you – how did that – how can you –" She gaped at him as if he committed some unforgivable sin. How could he not propose? That was unacceptable! Suddenly, it clicked on her. "Did you..." Sakura looked around and lowered her voice. "Did you get her pregnant? Like, did you guys decided to get married because of it? Or did you have to rush the wedding before her stomach becomes visible? Or –"

"God, woman!" Syaoran shot her an irritated look. "No! Will you stop with that accusation already? Seriously, why are you so adamant about that?"

"It makes sense." She shrugged. "But I'm glad it's not the reason. People should marry for love."

"Geez, are you bipolar or something? One minute, you're ready to kill me, and then now..." He gestured to her dreamy look. "Who let you out of the loony bin? I think they released you by mistake," Syaoran finished dryly.

That snapped Sakura out of her daze. "I'm going to hurt you."

"Ow!" Syaoran exclaimed, staring at her in disbelief. He held his arm, where Sakura's fist made contact.

"I warned you."

"Yeah, like half a second."

"I still did. Now, back to the matter at hand." Sakura straightened. "Why was there no proposal?"

"It's kind of expected that we get married anyway."

Sakura nodded. She didn't really understand, but at least he answered. That was an improvement on his part. Damn. One sentence as an improvement – yeah, they were that pathetic. "But you guys weren't forced, right? You want this and you love each other?"

"I... It's not..." Syaoran struggled. "It's not just that –"

"Yes or no."

Syaoran took a few moments. "Yes."

"There you go. Now, my idea sounds even better. Tomoyo will definitely receive one heck of a proposal!" She beamed. She was excited at the thought of being able to bring two people together – even if one of them was an arrogant jerk. "Don't worry. I'll help you with the preparation. I'll even distract Tomoyo whenever you want so she wouldn't suspect anything. How do you think we should go on about this? Where do we start? Hmm... how about the theme of your proposal? And then we can look for places – hey! I'm talking to you!" Sakura glowered when she noticed that he was busy checking out his phone.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm listening. But I have a meeting in fifteen minutes." Syaoran took out his wallet and dropped some bills on the table. "I'm sor- no, not really, I'm not sorry, but I have to go."

"Hey! I can pay for my own, you know," Sakura protested, but she was ignored. He started walking away, and she was quick to follow. "When can we start on our plan? I'm available tomorrow, around after four. How about you?"

He checked his phone for his schedule. "No, I can't do tomorrow."

"Okay, how about –"

Syaoran turned to her. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember agreeing to anything."

"I don't need you to agree. We're still doing it." She grinned cheekily. "Wait, are you really not available tomorrow, or were you just saying that?"

He sighed. "I have a long day tomorrow. I don't go out until ten. And please, spare me. I don't want to deal with you after that."

"Fair enough. The day after the next?"

"What time?" He asked before adding under his breath, "Shit, I can't believe I'm consenting to meeting you again."

"I heard that."

Syaoran stopped in front of the building. "I have to go. Does five o'clock work for you?"

"Sure. I'll meet you here at five?"

"Yeah." And without another word or glance, both of them went on their own way.

* * *

AN: My Tomoyo here will be nice. Sorry, I just can't see her as anything else. Besides, a nice Tomoyo will bring in more conflict. Haha. So there, just a little bit background on SxTxE. Sakura's officially involved, and with her exactly on the scene... LOL.

The story is shaping up. Insert twist and turns here and there, and we're good. ;) I'm pretty sure there will be one more before I take off. I'll post it up soon. Review, review!


	4. Chapter 4

**Destined**

Author's Note: I know I said you guys can ask questions, but I just realized that I can't reply to most of them without revealing anything. I can't give direct answers because it's part of the flow of the story. Sorry. ;)

Anyway, Sakura has good intentions, but if you feel that she intervenes greatly... Yes, she does. (The very first chapter actually backs that up, don't you think? LOL.)

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

Chapter 4

* * *

"Hey."

Syaoran looked up from his desk, surprised to see Tomoyo. "Oh, hey. I wasn't expecting you. Is something wrong?"

Tomoyo gave him a quick peck before taking a seat on his leather couch. "No, nothing's wrong."

"Are you sure? You look tired."

"Just a little stress is all." She waved her hand dismissively. "I'm almost finished with the final designs for my next collection."

"I'm sure it'll be good." Syaoran smiled at her. "It always is." Even without the power of her last name, he knew that Tomoyo could still make it. She was that talented.

Tomoyo bit the inside of her cheek. She wanted to talk to him about the wedding, but she wasn't sure how to broach the subject. She knew it was still on, but other than that piece of information, she had nothing else.

The silence stretched, and Tomoyo was left staring at the clock. It was almost two o'clock. She knew that she had to say something. Syaoran knew her well enough to know that this wasn't any casual visit. He knew that she had something to say, but he was giving her time to gather her thoughts.

"So..." Tomoyo cleared her throat. She decided on another topic instead. "I met Sakura the other day."

Syaoran almost said 'I know', but he held himself back in time. "I see." He didn't know why, but he was surprisingly following with Sakura's idea. Tomoyo must not know that he was meeting with Sakura because of the 'plan'. He almost snorted at that.

"What do you think of her?"

His response was almost automatic, "She's annoying."

"No, she's not," Tomoyo was quick to defend. "She's really nice."

"She's too overenthusiastic for her own good," Syaoran muttered under his breath. He was starting to see that no matter what he tried, Sakura was much too stubborn to leave things be.

"She's good, Syaoran. Give her a chance."

He merely shrugged. He was sort of... confused? Sakura was right when she said that she was not like the other women he was used to. She was too honest, too open, too frank, too direct – too everything. Too much. She didn't bother to act careful around him. She simply voiced out what she wanted, and she definitely didn't take any of his crap. Syaoran wasn't sure how to feel about all that.

Tomoyo continued, "Don't be mad at her."

"I'm not... mad," he stated lowly. Yeah, he wasn't furious at her anymore, but that didn't mean that he was completely over it.

Syaoran had issues. That marriage... it was such a huge move for him. Nobody had any idea as to how much. He deliberated and reflected over it for a long time. He thoroughly prepared himself for it. And when he finally took the step... Sakura just took it away.

So yeah, it wasn't that easy for him to let it go. It didn't help that Sakura was so unpredictable. Honestly, he didn't want to have to do anything with her anymore. Syaoran just wanted to cut all ties, but unfortunately, it wasn't going to happen. He could take measures to prevent Sakura from coming near them, but he didn't have the heart to do it when it was clear that Tomoyo wanted her to stay.

"Then that's good to hear," Tomoyo smiled. "She's going to be my friend, you know."

Syaoran just nodded. He knew it meant much to Tomoyo to have the significant people in her life share a good-natured relationship. Sakura was worming her way in, and he didn't know how to handle her intrusion. He would just have to endure it.

A buzz from the intercom informed Syaoran of a phone call on hold. Tomoyo took this as a sign to go. "I'll leave now."

"Do you need anything else?"

What they talked about wasn't what she initially came for, but Tomoyo was happy with the result nonetheless. 'At least Syaoran and Sakura are okay,' she thought as she stood up. "No, I'm good. Oh, by the way, you're going to that Sunday brunch, right?"

Syaoran stood up to escort her. "Yeah. What time should I pick you up?"

She thought for a moment. "I'll just meet you there." Tomoyo rolled her eyes. "I know you hate the wait while I get ready."

"Oh, come on, Tomoyo," Syaoran teased. "You have to admit, you take too damn long."

Of course she did. She had to make sure that she was perfect in every way for him. Perfect clothes. Perfect make-up. Perfect hair.

"So I'll just see you there?" Syaoran interrupted her thoughts.

"Yeah." She leaned in to give him a kiss. "Talk to you later." Tomoyo smiled again before walking out.

* * *

Sakura tapped her foot on the ground.

Forty five minutes.

She had been waiting for Li Syaoran for forty five minutes. They didn't have each other's number – damn him for throwing hers – so she didn't know if they were still meeting or not.

'He's late,' she repeated for the twenty sixth time. It was starting to get dark, and she was feeling a little cold. 'Screw it. I'm going in,' she finally decided. With a determined nod, she marched towards the building. When the guard asked her where she was heading, she made some excuse about passing her resume – never mind the fact that she was only carrying a small purse and that office hours were over. "I'll leave it at the HR department then." She glowered. She wasn't aware of it before, but now, it was a proven fact that she and guards didn't go well together.

After some consideration, the guard let her in. Sakura walked towards the reception, eyeing the information wall behind it. Floors from the forty-seven and up were for Li Industries. But where was Li Syaoran specifically? She knew that she wouldn't get that kind of information by simply asking so before anyone else took notice of her, Sakura made a detour and headed inconspicuously for the elevators. Only one other person was there with her and he was on the phone, seemingly unaware of her presence. He got off before her, and soon enough, she was on the forty-seventh floor. She stepped out, looked left, and then right. Crap, glass doors. She wouldn't be able to enter unless she had their electronic IDs.

Sakura wasn't given time to figure things out when she saw someone walk by. She knew that she couldn't get caught loitering so she ducked inside the stairwell. She traveled up the next level and saw the same layout. Finally, on the fifty-first floor, she saw a desk instead, but no one was behind it. Things were still lying around so Sakura knew that the person sitting on it would be back soon. She walked further into the hallway and saw empty conference rooms behind the glass walls. She had to admit, she was impressed with the interior.

All too soon, Sakura heard footsteps behind her. 'Oh, damn!' With nowhere else to go, she threw open the door closest to her. She thanked whoever was responsible that it wasn't locked. But since the walls were made of glass, someone could still see her if they pass by. She decided to hide behind one of the chairs and prayed for her safety.

'Crap, crap!' Her action finally caught up to her brain. She freaking trespassed at a multi-billion company! It wasn't her plan to spend the night in jail.

Of course, Sakura knew better than to hope. A minute later, she heard the door open. She caught sight of a dark-haired couple whispering to themselves.

"In here. Follow me."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, come on, we don't have much time."

Giggling and rustling of clothes followed. Realization hit Sakura like noting else before, and her eyes widened in disbelief. 'Oh holy fucking shit no!' She shook her head forcefully, willing herself to wake up from the nightmare that was about to happen. 'No, no, no!' Sakura paled. She didn't sign up for some after office rendezvous. 'Hell, no!' This was just wrong – so, so freaking wrong. 'Why me? What did I ever do to deserve this?'

Sakura couldn't see from her position on the floor, but she could clearly hear them. She covered her ears, but too fucking bad, it wasn't working. And as if the moaning and grunting weren't enough, she had to hear...

"Who's your daddy, bitch? Who's your daddy, huh, you little slut!"

'Shit, no!' Sakura begged. 'Stop!'

She felt like she was in some sort of a bad porno and damn, it was so bad, it wasn't even funny. She wanted to stop them, but she wasn't sure if she could handle the visuals that came along with what she was hearing. Sakura cursed madly at herself. She should have made her presence known earlier, but everything happened so fast and she was frozen in her spot. She got back to her senses too much too late.

Spending the night in jail sounded better and better with each second that passed. 'Just fucking finish already!' Sakura was tempted to bang her head on the floor. Passing out seemed so much better than this.

"Fuck, someone's coming!"

'Finally! Please, end it now!' In her misery, she didn't even realize that she took their words the wrong way. 'Huh?' Sakura was confused when she heard them scramble for clothes and ran outside. 'Oh... oh. Someone else.'

She dragged her agonized self out of her hiding place and laid her head down on the floor. Around ten seconds later, the door opened again. Sakura didn't care anymore. She would happily help them throw herself out. She wouldn't even complain if they did it from the window.

Cracking an eye open, she saw Syaoran. "The hell...?" He was visibly surprised to find Sakura lying on the carpeted floor of the conference room. "Yo–"

"I swear," Sakura growled, "If you say 'you', I'm going to fucking lose it."

He held his hands up. "Whoa, easy there, kitten."

She scowled at the nickname. Then again, she would rather have these infuriating spats with him as compared to what she had experienced minutes ago. Gah... that scarred her for life!

At the corner of her eye, Sakura saw him sniff the air.

"Do I even want to know?" Syaoran asked dryly, remembering the two flustered employees he saw on the way over here.

She groaned, "Probably not." Insert shudder.

Syaoran eyed the folder on the table – the reason he was there in the first place. It was exactly where he left it, but still. "Fuck, I'm not touching that."

"You're scared of that?" Sakura sat up and threw her hands wildly. "Imagine what I had to go through!" Another shiver went down her spine. "I feel so... so – so violated! I'm going to need a freaking therapy after this! I'm going to have to sue!"

"First off, you needed therapy a long time ago." He ignored the murderous look she gave him. "And second, you can't sue because you have no right to be here in the first place." He sighed before asking, "Do I want to know how you got here?"

"Front entrance, elevators, stairs, door." Of course, she intentionally omitted the fact that she dodged everyone and anyone who looked like they had the authority to question her presence.

"Why are you here?"

"Because Li! You were supposed to meet me at five o'clock, and now, it's," Sakura glanced at her watch, "Six fifteen – oh God, six fifteen. I listened to them for about twenty minutes! Twenty minutes of my life that I wouldn't be able to take back." She suddenly glared at him. "This is all your fault! If you were on time, I wouldn't have to go and come up here."

"You shouldn't have sneaked in –"

"What makes you think –"

"We both know you did."

Syaoran came closer and held his hand out. She looked at it blankly before realizing that he was offering it to help her up. Grudgingly, she took it. "Thanks."

"Besides," Syaoran continued as she stood up, "I left you a message at the information desk. Obviously, you didn't go there. I should have known you never do things the easy and normal way."

"Oh. Um..." She dusted herself awkwardly. "Eh... what does it say?"

"That I'm running late. I left my contact number so you can inform me whether you'll wait or reschedule." He sighed resignedly. "But since you're here, come on."

"Where?" Sakura looked at him suspiciously. "Are you taking me to jail? Haven't I suffered enough?"

"Stop being dramatic. I'm just going to get my things, and then we'll head out."

"Can you bring me justice?" She abruptly asked. "Can you fire them? Lewd behavior and all that."

"They'll be dealt with, but not by me." He vaguely pointed at the corner ceiling. "Security cam."

"They didn't know it was there, did they?" Sakura squinted, but her attention shifted when she heard Syaoran snort. "What?"

"That must have been some show. Security should have seized you the moment they saw you sneak in. They must have delayed it to watch."

Sakura gasped when she realized that not only was she forced to endure the so-called show, other people were also there to see her. "Oh, god..." She didn't even want to imagine how she looked like during that time.

Amusement was dancing on his eyes. "At least you're not the star."

"Was that supposed to make me feel better?"

"Take it anyway you want."

Sakura growled when she saw the corner of his lips twitch. She knew he wanted to laugh, and that pissed her more. There was nothing funny with what happened to her. That was a traumatic experience, for Christ's sake!

But as she thought more about it, Sakura found herself fighting a smile. Jesus. Really, only to her would something like that happen. Only she could find herself stuck in such a sick and screwed up situation.

Their eyes met, and before they knew it, they were laughing. Not little giggles or low chuckles but full blown laughter. For the first time since they met, they were not scowling or trying to kill each other.

"God!" Sakura's whole form was shaking. "Hahaha! That was so embarrassing!" She suddenly slapped her hand over her mouth.

"Oh fuck!" Syaoran rolled with more laughter. "Did you just snort?"

She wanted to protest, but her red cheeks gave her away.

"Ow!" Syaoran cried out before looking behind to see what hit his shoulder. "You threw your shoe at me!"

Sakura's momentary irritation was wiped away in an instant, and she was doubled in laughter again at Syaoran's stunned expression. "You – haha! You should have –" She clutched her stomach. It was starting to hurt with all that hysterics. "You should have seen your face!" Sakura was tempted to chuck her other shoe at him to get that reaction. It was just too comical!

"You're asking for it."

She was still laughing as she watched Syaoran bend over and grabbed the shoe she hurled at him. "Hey, what are –" She gasped, trying to breathe and talk at the same time. "What – what are you doing?"

Syaoran just turned around and walked out the door, her tennis shoe in hand.

"Hey!" Sakura straightened instantly. "Where are you going?!" She was a little unsteady as she hobbled after him. He turned into a corner and opened a stainless steel door. Sakura's eyes widened when she realized that it led to a garbage chute. He was literally going to throw away her shoe! "Oh no, you don't!" Without thinking, she dropped her purse and jumped on his back. "Give it back!" Her left hand reached around him but he only held it out further.

"Since you love – oof – to throw it out," Syaoran struggled, trying to dislodge her. "I'll do – ouch! I'll do it for you!"

"No! Argh!" She tightened her legs around his waist so she could push herself up. "Freaking give it to me!"

"Let go!" Syaoran was regaining his balance while simultaneously holding out the offending item and attempting to take Sakura's right arm off around his neck. "You can't just hit me – shit! And expect to always get away with it!"

"Stop!" Sakura continued to fight back. He was successful in removing her arm so she clutched the front of his shirt instead. "Ugh!" She pulled down, trying to make him bend. However, he was too strong. "That's mine!"

"Say you're sorry!" He demanded. "Fuck!"

Sakura was now tugging at his hair, and that made him retaliate. With his free hand, he gripped the back of her thigh and squeezed hard – not that hard to hurt, but hard enough to make her let go.

"Ow!" Sakura exclaimed. She slid down to his hips, but she recovered quickly. "Why should I? You're the one who laughed at me!"

"It was funny! Hey – stop that!"

She continued pinching his side. "You were supposed to laugh with me! Not at me, asshole!"

"You didn't have to throw anything! Ow – apologize!"

"No!" Sakura's muscles were starting to ache, and her hold loosened considerably. "Give it ba- shit – I'm falling!"

From their stance, Syaoran knew that it was going to be one nasty fall, so he instantly grabbed one of her leg and one of her arm, and then pulled her body to him to secure her on his back. "Ungh!" Due to that process, Sakura's shoe fell from his hand.

She instantly saw that opportunity and tried to let go once she was steady again. This time, Syaoran wasn't letting her. He hurriedly took a few steps until Sakura's back hit the wall with a thump, before dropping her there. "Mmf!"

He aimed to get the shoe again, but Sakura was swift to stand up. Syaoran was bending down to retrieve the item when she dived for it at the same time.

"Fuck!"

The action effectively sent Syaoran falling flat on his face.

"Ouch!"

Sakura fell with him, but she immediately forced herself to crawl over him.

"Hah!"

Her shoe was within her grasp when she felt a powerful tug at the end of her shirt, halting any further movement.

"Let me go, you jerk!" She tried to kick him off from their position on the floor, but he trapped her legs together with him arms and used that to drag her away. "Stop!"

Sakura used her nails and dug it on his arms to make him let go.

He refused to release her. "Bitch, that hurts!" Syaoran bit the skin on her wrist to make her stop.

"Shit!" She instantly cradled her hand close to her chest.

He used Sakura's distraction as a chance to move. However, the moment he relaxed his grip on her legs, she wrapped it around his upper torso before rolling him on his back and effectively straddling him.

"Oof!" Syaoran lost his breath for a second due to the sudden impact, but that didn't slow him down. Before Sakura could move away, he wrapped his arm tightly on her waist. Sakura's top had ridden up so his hand came in contact with her bare skin, but neither paid attention as Syaoran forcefully lifted her off and sent her on her back beside him.

"No!" Sakura tried to stop him when he started crawling towards the shoe again. She managed to grab a part of his slacks, and she yanked back as hard as she could.

Syaoran continued moving forward. "Damn it!" His dress shirt was completely un-tucked at this point, and it successfully covered the top of his boxers, which he was sure was peeking out since he was fighting against Sakura's pull on him.

"Don't!" Sakura cried out when she saw him take hold of her beloved shoe. He was now trying to sit up and open the hatch. "Okay, okay!" She knew that the battle was over, and that she had lost. "Okay, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Syaoran turned around and leaned his full weight against the wall. Nobody moved or said anything after that. Both of them were breathing heavily and looking flushed and thoroughly disheveled.

They were both busy trying to put back oxygen in there body and regain some much needed energy. Crap. That was downright exhausting.

"Here," Syaoran recovered first as he tossed the shoe in her direction.

"Can you – can you give me a moment?" Sakura took a deep again as she forced herself to sit up. She flinched slightly at the movement. Damn. She easily bruised so she knew at that moment that some will appear on her legs. Sakura mentally cursed him, but that turned into satisfaction when she saw him rubbing his sides. At least she left some marks on him, too. 'Hah!' She took note of other damages. His hair was just wild, pointing to different directions. His dress shirt was also extremely wrinkled, and the top two buttons were missing. Neither knew when it came off. 'Serves him right.' She wasn't apologetic for ruining an undoubtedly expensive shirt.

She knew that her state wasn't any better. Looking down, she noted that her own top and jeans were crumpled, too. There were even loose threads on her shirt. Shoot. She didn't even want to think about her hair. However, Sakura was surprised to see that she was only wearing socks. She didn't even realize that her other shoe had come off during the struggle.

At the corner of her eyes, she saw Syaoran stood up. He readjusted his belt and removed his tie, before attempting to straighten his shirt. Sakura decided to follow his lead and tried her best to look presentable. Yeah, it was a lost cause.

Sakura tried to balance herself. "I... I think I'm good." As good as it could get, anyway. Her voice was still a little out of breath. "What now?"

"My office." Syaoran exhaled noisily. What could have been a simple trip to get his things turned entirely into something else with Sakura involved.

She followed him silently to another set of elevators. Sakura was somewhat grateful that they didn't bump into anyone else. She didn't want to deal with odd looks regarding their questionable appearance.

"Why aren't you at the top?" She asked when they stepped out on the fifty-fifth floor. She remembered that the building had at least sixty. Sakura realized that the floors served by the new elevator weren't on the one she previously rode in. "Aren't you one of the boss or something?"

"No." He was about to leave it at that, but she was looking at him expectantly. Syaoran sighed. Christ. He had enough fighting for one day. "I do have position, but I don't have that much power. I'm not even on the board of directors." He had bodyguards not because of what he did, but because of what he was born with.

"I see..." Sakura nodded. Even though his family practically owned the company, he wasn't in it long enough to have a seat on the board. He had to work for it. Besides, he was still young. He didn't have that much experience handling his own business unit.

Syaoran opened the last door on the hallway. Sakura saw the engraved solid brass plate.

_Li Syaoran_

_Vice President – Corporate Planning and Development_

"Were you always in this division?"

"Just a few months. I recently got transferred from another group." And since he knew that Sakura would ask – she just had to know everything – he added, "International business operation."

"Ah... – oh!" The moment Sakura spotted his leather couch, the ache in her muscles came back full force. The physical consequence of what happened minutes ago made itself known again. She turned to Syaoran, "Can I?"

Syaoran just tilted his head before he collapsed on his chair. He was apparently feeling the same effect. "Damn..." He rolled his shoulders repeatedly.

"Oh, god..." Sakura groaned as she laid down her tired body. She was going to be sore for days! "You did it."

"Did what?"

"Shut me up."

"No, you're still talking."

"I wasn't a few minutes ago. And what I meant was that you tired me out too much to want to talk."

"You're still talking."

"But –"

"Sshh."

Sakura just grunted. God, she was truly spent. How did she even manage to haul her ass up there? She almost wanted to beg him to allow her to stay on the sofa for the rest of the night.

On the other side of the room, Syaoran was rolling up his sleeves. He winced when he saw the red marks on his arms. He was sure that he had them on his sides too. Syaoran honestly tried to be careful, but geez, that woman sure didn't hold back. He glanced at the said woman who was lying perfectly still on his couch.

He couldn't help but notice the immediate difference between the two females who occupied that same couch on the same day. While Tomoyo sat there with her legs properly crossed, Sakura was practically dead to the world. With her feet dangling on the armrest, it was clear that she didn't need much invitation to make herself comfortable.

"I don't want to move," Sakura groused. "I can't move."

Syaoran sighed. He knew those several minutes of silence were too good to be true. It had to end sometime. "Can we work on this plan of yours another day? I don't think I'm up for it."

"Are you sure you want to delay this?" Sakura craned her neck to look at him. "I know you don't want to deal with me longer than necessary – don't worry, I feel the same, but at this point, I'm not going to put up much of a fight."

"Oh, please don't." He almost groaned at the idea of a new round.

Sakura merely returned to her original position, indicating that she acquiesced.

After giving her a few moments to rest, Syaoran finally stood up. He stretched some more before piling his things on his briefcase. "Oi kitten, you can't go to sleep there."

Sakura's eyes opened at once. She wasn't even aware that she closed it. "Kitten?" A frown marred her feature. It was the second time he called her that. "Don't call me that! Why are you even calling me that?" And seriously, before she switched to calling him Li, she originally nicknamed him Gorgeous Man... and all she got was kitten?

"Because," he paused, peeking at his arms again. He realized that the name seemed more fitting now. "You're like a kitten when you're angry. And you're always angry."

"I am not!"

Syaoran ignored her as he shut his briefcase. "Come on, I have to go. You have to leave."

"Wow," she started dryly, "Really, you don't have to sugarcoat your words for me." Sakura moaned again when she stood up. Syaoran was already at the door, and she was tempted to slow down her movements just to irk him.

She rode with him in the elevator, walked along the hallway, and to the main set of elevators, grumbling all the way.

Syaoran pressed the button for the underground parking. "Where did you park?"

"Didn't bring my car." She didn't want to think of what would have happened if he was successful in throwing away her shoe. Walking around the city in her socks wasn't really an exciting thought. Sakura moved around him to press the button for the ground floor.

Syaoran grimaced when he saw her extended hand. Teeth mark was visible on her wrist.

"Wha – huh?" Sakura was confused when he saw him stating. She followed his gaze. "You bit me!" She had almost forgotten about it.

He recoiled when she hissed at him. "You were clawing at my skin." Before Sakura could retort, he changed the topic. "I'll bring you home."

"No, thanks."

"Fine." He offered, she declined – end of discussion.

The door opened on the ground floor, and Sakura was more than ready to leave. "Oh wait," she turned back to him as she held it open. "When can we meet again?"

"Get my message at the reception. I told you I left my number there."

"Fine." She gave him a careless wave before stepping out. God, that was one productive day – not.

* * *

AN: So... it seemed that they took a step up in the level of their bickering. Things can get interesting with that. LOL.

Review! Review! Review! :P


	5. Chapter 5

**Destined**

Author's Note: I know, I know. It took me a long time... again. But I have good news! (Uh... I would like to think of it as good news. Haha.) Eighty percent of Chapters 6, 7 and 8, and around fifty percent of Chapter 9 are done. That's not too bad, right? I was able to write about five chapters while I disappeared. (Yeah, I'm totally justifying my absence. Haha.)

Anyway, thank you, thank you again! I'm so happy that you liked last chapter. I loved writing it, too. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

Chapter 5

* * *

"Let's go to a club!"

Sakura was caught off-guard. "What?"

"Let's go to a club!" Tomoyo repeated with the same enthusiasm. "I'm tired of this." She gestured around them. They were at a different hotel bar, but it felt the same for Sakura. "It's been years since the last time," Tomoyo admitted. "Pathetic, right? Like I told you, I didn't have much girlfriends so nobody to party with. And Syaoran and Eriol didn't want me going with them. Whatever." She rolled her eyes at the thought before turning to Sakura and unleashing her pout. "I lived so miserably. So, what do you say?"

Sakura laughed at her antics. "I'm not sure I'm the right person for the job, but I'll go with you."

"Yes!"

"I would call some of my friends to join us, but I already know that they have other plans so maybe next time," Sakura mused out loud as they stood up.

They grinned at each other at the prospect of next time. "I would love that," Tomoyo agreed. "I'm sure you're friends are wonderful."

"They are. They'll like you."

"I hope so." Tomoyo grabbed her purse. "Come on! Let's dance the night out with some hard, strong alcohol!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Oh, god," Tomoyo moaned as she bent over the toilet seat in Sakura's apartment. "My head is killing me."

Sakura was rubbing her back and holding her hair out of her face. "Yeah, hangover sucks."

Needless to say, Tomoyo got carried away. They were just having fun, and Sakura tried to keep an eye on her, but the next thing she knew, she was dragging a half-conscious Tomoyo into a cab. She didn't know where Tomoyo lived, and even if she did, she didn't think it was proper to bring her there in a drunken stupor. Sakura decided to just bring the other girl home. Tomoyo promptly conked out soon after, only waking up a few minutes ago to relieve her stomach.

"Argh..." Tomoyo just wanted to curl up on the tiled floor and pass out again. Her head pounded too much. "Oh no! What time is it?" She turned to Sakura, but the sudden movement only caused her head to throb more. Her stomach also protested. "Ungh!" She threw up again. On any other day, she would find this disgusting, but right now, she was still too wasted to care.

Sakura gently wiped the sweat on Tomoyo's forehead. "Almost ten." She kept her voice low and soft. She knew that Tomoyo wouldn't appreciate any loud noises. She was even sure that the bathroom light was hurting her eyes.

"No, no..." Tomoyo groaned. She felt more horrible. "Have to go to brunch..."

"Um, I don't think you're in any condition –" Sakura cut herself off when Tomoyo started another round with the toilet.

"It hurts." Whose brilliant idea was it anyway to go out last night? Oh right. Hers. "Syaoran... waiting..." Then Tomoyo realized, "Oh, no... He can't see me like this."

Sakura was sure that he would put the blame on her. Even though she felt guilty for Tomoyo's current state, she didn't need him to get mad and rub it in her face.

"What am I going to do?" Tomoyo whimpered. He would surely look for her. Even if she did manage to fix her appearance with layers of make-up, she could barely walk without swaying.

"Uh..." Sakura raked her brain. She knew Syaoran was going to have a cow... and a sheep – damn, the whole herd! "How about Eriol? Maybe he could cover for you?"

Tomoyo furrowed her brows. "Yeah, maybe..."

"Can I borrow your phone? I don't have his number."

"In my bag." Tomoyo gratefully took Sakura's help to stand up. She smiled when she was handed a brand-new toothbrush. She was in awful need of that. "Goodness, thank you."

Sakura just smiled at her before opening the medicine cabinet. She took two tablets and a glass of water before setting it down on the counter. "Take this, okay? I'll call Eriol." She left Tomoyo and dug into the latter's bag for the phone. When she found it, she copied the number on her own phone.

Four rings after, Eriol picked up, "Hello?"

"Hey Eriol, um, this is Sakura. Kinomoto Sakura..." She trailed off, waiting for a sign that he remembered her.

"Oh, hello Sakura."

She sighed in relief. "Well, um, I..." How to proceed with him? She barely spoke with him in the past. "I need your help..." Sakura smacked herself. She sounded so unsure that she wouldn't be surprised if Eriol hanged up on her, believing that it was just a prank call. "I'm with Tomoyo..."

"Tomoyo? Why? What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"No, no. She's fine." Sakura cut off his worries. "I mean, not exactly." When she heard a sharp intake of breath, she knew that she wasn't doing a very good job of keeping him calm. Sakura decided to just drop the bomb. "She's hungover."

It took awhile for Eriol to respond. "... What?"

She relayed the events of last night. "And she might throw up more later. Her head still hurts, and she can't stand properly."

"Oh..." He was not expecting that. "Can you give me your address so I can pick her up?"

"Okay, that's fine too. But we kind of need your help with something else." Sakura scrunched her brows. "Something about brunch...?"

"Oh." Now Eriol saw the problem. He wasn't going to be in that brunch, thus the reason why he never thought of it earlier. "She doesn't want Syaoran to know."

"Yeah."

At that moment, Tomoyo came into the room and carefully lowered herself on the bed.

'Want to talk?' Sakura mouthed while pointing to the phone.

Tomoyo shook her head, and then winced at the slight movement. She was able to wash her face and comb her hair, but she still looked and felt terrible.

Meanwhile, Eriol was deliberating on the other line. "If she doesn't show up, Syaoran will want to check up on her. I can call him and say I'll go instead, but we still need a reason."

"How about if we just say that Tomoyo is spending the morning with me?"

Tomoyo almost shook her head again, but she caught herself on time. She knew that excuse wouldn't work.

Apparently, so did Eriol. "I don't think so." He turned hesitant. "Tomoyo doesn't... really miss a chance to be Syaoran."

"I see..." Sakura thought for a moment. "Hmm, well... ah, how about you go and intercept him? Prevent him from arriving so he wouldn't know that Tomoyo wasn't there in the first place?"

"That seems like a good idea, but," Eriol sighed in defeat, "I'm on the other side of town right now. I wouldn't be able to make it on time."

"Oh..."

Tomoyo frowned at Sakura's disappointed tone. She was okay with that plan. "What's wrong?" She asked. Her voice was a little raspy and she tried clearing her throat. Ugh. It felt so dry.

"He's out of town," Sakura whispered.

Tomoyo looked down. Maybe she had to tell him after all.

Upon noticing Tomoyo's crestfallen feature, Sakura turned back to her phone. "Hey Eriol, I'll call you later, okay?" After flipping it close, she sat beside Tomoyo. "It's fine. We'll just tell him it was my idea. I tempted and forced you to a night of recklessness. That'll work. He'll believe me."

"No, Sakura. I wouldn't let you take the blame," Tomoyo stated softly. "And it's not about that at all." She massaged her temple. "It's just that I... the time I tried to be spontaneous, this happened." She laughed humorlessly. "And now... Syaoran has to see the consequence. I can't even seem to have fun without failing." True that she didn't want him seeing her in this less-than-perfect state, but more than that, she didn't want him knowing this letdown.

"Tomoyo, you are fun." Sakura tried to make her smile, "You are plenty fun last night."

"Thank you." Tomoyo turned to her appreciatively. "Thank you for coming with me, for wanting to help me fix this, for taking care of me, for letting me have your bed – oh, and I'm sorry for that, too. I didn't mean to kick you out and be a burden."

"You're not a burden," Sakura stated firmly. "And besides, my roommate wasn't here last night so I was able to sleep on her bed. Don't worry about that."

Tomoyo took this chance to look around the place. Sakura's room wasn't sparkling clean. Some clothes here, some stuffs there – but it wasn't necessarily messy. In fact, it seemed comfy. Things were simple unlike hers with those excessively huge pieces of furniture. "You live with someone?"

"Yes. Her name's Naoko. I'll introduce you two sometime." Sakura bit her bottom lip when she remembered. "Uh... she's the friend..." She trailed off, not knowing how to continue.

"Ah." Tomoyo caught on. "Why wasn't she here?"

"She's spending more time with Kenji lately. Um, Tomoyo..." Sakura twisted her hands together. "She doesn't know what happened. Can we not tell her? It's just that she'll feel bad, and I don't want her –"

"She won't know," Tomoyo assured. "You're a really wonderful friend."

It was quiet for a moment before an idea popped into Sakura's head. "I'll go," she announced suddenly as she stood up.

"Huh?"

"I'll distract Li."

"How are you going to that?"

"Um, I..." Sakura was thinking of planning the proposal as an excuse to him, but what would she tell Tomoyo? "I'll... apologize? He's, um... he still seems angry at me. Yeah, that's it."

"No, he's not."

"He is." Sakura flinched at her own tone. She sounded almost eager that he was mad.

"I talked to him about it," Tomoyo recalled. "Don't worry. He's not mad."

Sakura was surprised. "Really?"

"But if you really want to, then go ahead. Maybe he has to talk to you himself like I did so you'll believe it." Tomoyo smiled at her, thinking that Sakura really needed personal reassurance that he wasn't mad.

Sakura didn't want to lie, but she justified that she was only doing this for her. "I think I have to go now if I want to stop him. Are you going to be okay?"

"Yes. I'll just call Eriol later to pick me up." Before Sakura could leave, Tomoyo thanked her again. "This means a lot to me. Thank you."

"Don't worry about it. Just rest for now."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Sakura was parking her car near the hotel when she spotted Syaoran. She quickly stepped out and tried to hide discreetly among the other pedestrians.

When he was near the entrance, Sakura conveniently bumped into him. "I'm sorry –" She pretended to be surprised. "Oh, it's you! Wow, what a coincidence to see you here, Li!" Fuck. She sucked at acting, too.

Syaoran looked at her weirdly. "Okay...?"

She just beamed. "How are you?"

He was wary of her – that was for sure. Did he miss a chapter here or something? Because he was certain that the last time they were together, they were rolling on the floor and inflicting damage to each other. "I'm busy now. Can I ignore you some other time?"

"Haha! Li, you're so funny!" Sakura laughed, a bit too loudly in her opinion.

Syaoran backed away. Crap. She was extra chirpy. "I think the mental hospital tested too many drugs on you today..."

Sakura ignored his jab and kept the smile plastered on her face. "Oh, hey! A thought just came to my mind –"

"Must have been a long journey."

The smile on Sakura's face was bordering on sinister now. "As I was saying, I just thought that since we're here together now, we could discuss your proposal."

"Can't. I have a prior engagement."

When Syaoran nodded at her, she knew that she was being dismissed. Sakura couldn't have that so before he could turn and leave, she latched herself to his arm.

"What the hell?" Syaoran struggled, but her hold just tightened.

"Come on. That's just a silly brunch!" She tugged at him, still smiling. Her cheeks were starting to hurt. "You can always attend the next one."

"How do you know what I'm up to? Are you spying on me?" Syaoran frowned. "Besides, I can't just leave. Tomoyo is going to be there and she's going to look for me." He continued yanking back his arm while looking behind the glass to try and spot the said woman.

Sakura knew he would find Tomoyo missing, so she grabbed his chin with her free hand and forced him to look at her.

"... the fuck?" He leaned away, but Sakura wouldn't let go. Syaoran couldn't believe that he was being openly molested on the sidewalk by a psychotic woman.

"We have to go before she sees you," Sakura continued making excuses to get him to leave. "And of course not! I wasn't spying on you! It was uh... a lucky guess."

"Stop that!" Syaoran protested when she started pulling again. "Will you just wait a fucking minute?"

Sakura was already impatient. She didn't want to risk someone else seeing and ushering him inside.

"If I leave, what will I tell Tomoyo?"

She faltered for a moment, and Syaoran took that chance to escape the death grip she had on his arms. "Can you just tell her you're not feeling well?" Gah, did she really have to think of everything? "Tell her you're sick, and that you can't make it." Not that his reason mattered anyways. "So...?" She looked at him edgily.

"Christ, you're a tyrant."

"I'll take that as a yes."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Yes, okay." Tomoyo glanced up at Eriol, who had just arrived. "Alright, I'll see you soon." She hanged up.

"Was that Syaoran?"

"Yeah." She accepted Eriol's help to get into the car. After Sakura left, she called Eriol and asked him if he could pick her up after he was finished with the meeting with his client.

He looked at her curiously. "So... what happened?"

"Sakura helped. Gosh, I owe her so much." Tomoyo leaned back on the seat. "She even let me borrow her clothes." She motioned at her current outfit.

Eriol raised a brow as he started the car. "Helped how?"

"She went there and intercepted him," Tomoyo explained. "And I guess it worked because Syaoran just told me that he couldn't make it since something came up."

"Do you think that's a good idea?" A crease appeared on Eriol's forehead. "Sending Sakura to Syaoran, I mean." The couple of times he was with them, they were... well, unfriendly.

Tomoyo got worried. "Why? What's the problem?"

He shrugged. "It's just that... I don't know, they don't seem to like the other all that much."

"Oh." So that was why Syaoran's exact words earlier were 'something awful that I'd rather not deal with came up.' "But I don't think Syaoran will treat her badly. You know him, he takes time to warm up," Tomoyo continued. "I just hope things go well, and that he isn't aloof or unresponsive to Sakura."

Eriol hoped for the same. The dilemma, however, was the exact opposite of Tomoyo's concerns. Syaoran was too responsive to her, and that wasn't necessarily a good thing. Eriol didn't want that to be the cause of driving Sakura away because he could tell that Tomoyo liked her.

"So," he started again as he turned into the familiar road that will lead them to Tomoyo's neighborhood. "What spurred this on?"

"What spurred what on?"

"The getting wasted. Don't you think you're a little too old for that?" Eriol teased. "Then again, maybe your rebellious year has finally arrived. We all thought you skipped it."

"Rebelling?" She scoffed. "That is so juvenile, and we both know that I am anything but." Tomoyo took her time to glance outside the window. "I just wanted to have a good time, you know."

"And did you have a good time?"

"Up until I woke up this morning, yes."

"Then that's good to hear."

"Oh, hey," Tomoyo turned to him as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Maybe next time, you and Syaoran should come with us."

Eriol grinned. "Now that's a plan. I would like to see the events that led to this."

"Sorry to disappoint, but I wouldn't be that unrestrained again." Tomoyo ignored his mock-sigh. "Seriously though, we should go out. You have to meet Sakura."

"I've met Sakura. I was the one who gave you her number, remember?"

"No, not like that. I meant, spend time with her." She pondered for a moment. "I'll arrange something for the four of us."

Eriol gave her a fleeting look before returning his eyes back on the road. "I know what you're trying to do."

Tomoyo looked away. "I'm not trying to do anything."

He wasn't fooled. "And besides, I thought you didn't want me getting it on with your friends?" He asked dryly. "Since according to you, I break their hearts and all, which by the way, I still don't agree."

"Oh, really? Remember Keiko? Junior year?"

"She asked me out. I turned her down. End of story. Nothing even came out of that."

"Fine. How about Rei?" Tomoyo challenged. "You dated her, but you dumped her before prom."

"What about that? That was a mutual decision."

"No, it wasn't."

"Yes, it was," Eriol opposed. "We talked about it."

"She was trying to salvage her pride so she agreed with you when you told her it wasn't working."

"... Oh."

"Men," Tomoyo muttered under her breath. "Anyway, what about Megumi? She cried for days over one date. She thought something was going on, but you totally ignored her the next day."

"Uh..." He blinked. "That wasn't me. That was Syaoran." Eriol suddenly laughed. "I remember now. She said she needed help with math so he tutored her one afternoon when she asked. He thought that was it. Apparently, they weren't on the same page."

"Oh, yeah..." Tomoyo nodded. "Then I went off at him for leading her on, and I got mad when he just sat there like an idiot, totally oblivious."

"That was the day Li Syaoran decided to never tutor anyone again."

"Yeah," Tomoyo laughed with him. "He can be so darn clueless sometimes." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, about Sakura – you'll like her."

"You seem confident... and a bit pushy on this subject." He tapped his finger on the steering wheel.

"That's because I know that it'll work." She faced him, even though he couldn't do the same since he was driving. "And I just want you to have someone, you know."

Eriol snorted. "In case you didn't notice, I don't really need help in that department."

"I meant have someone longer than two weeks," Tomoyo countered. "And I'm not asking you now to be tied down forever. I just wanted you to try and settle for one."

He just gave her a noncommittal shrug. "I'll think about it."

"That's good enough for me." She grinned at him. "Expect a call from me sometime soon about the details."

"But if it doesn't work out, remember it was you're idea."

"It will. Trust me."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A few minutes later, Syaoran found himself sitting behind the wheel.

Sakura sat beside him at the passenger seat, admiring the customized interior of his car but trying hard not to show it. 'Oh wow, this leather seat feels so goo-"

"We're going to need some rules."

"Huh?" She brought his gaze up to him. "Rules?"

"Yes." His serious tone made her grimace. At that moment, Sakura caught glimpse of his overbearing nature. Since Syaoran seemed to accept that it was really going to happen, his control was resurfacing.

"Like what?"

"Like you just can't show up and expect me to follow you. This is the last time I'm going to allow it to happen. Unlike you, some people have other things to do."

"I have a job too, you know," Sakura scowled. "It may be not as impressive as yours, but I still do." She felt offended at his implication that she had nothing better to do with her time. "I'm a junior editor. I can take some of my work home, so I don't have to bury myself in the office all the time unless there's a deadline." She explained, frowning. "What more do you want?"

Syaoran simply continued, not bothering to look at her, "I'm going to have the last say in the decision-making. If I don't like it, we don't do it."

Her mouth dropped open at that. She clenched her fists at her lap to prevent herself from assaulting him. "Is there anything else, sir?" Sakura added the last word mockingly.

He ignored her attitude. "I'm pretty sure there's more, but that's all for now." Syaoran then changed his mind, "Oh, yes, you also have to rein it in."

"Rein what it?"

"Your energy. I can only take it in small doses."

Before Sakura could spat any nasty retort, Syaoran redirected the topic.

"So you're confident about this place?"

They were going to a public park just outside the city. It wasn't really well-known, but she knew the perfect spot for the proposal to happen.

Sakura started instantly, "I know it sounds cliché, but it totally fits Tomoyo." She became dreamy again, like she always did when it came to this subject. "Candle light dinner, roses, lights..." She temporarily forgot her earlier annoyance. "Tomoyo seems like the traditional type. We just have to make sure it stays a surprise and make this really stylish and elegant for her."

He just nodded his consent.

Sakura continued, "I had ideas about sky diving or bungee jumping or some extreme sport, but Tomoyo doesn't struck me as the bold kind." She gasped and quickly corrected, "But I'm not saying that she's boring or anything. No, not at all. It's just that she always look so well-put together and –"

"Yeah, I get it," Syaoran cut off her ramblings.

"Oh, good. Anyway, I also thought of doing some sort of game, like, a treasure hunt or something. But Tomoyo appears... uh, for a lack of a better term, 'too grown-up' for those things. If you catch what I mean..."

"Yes, I understand."

"O... kay then."

Sakura suddenly became aware that she sounded like she was reporting to Syaoran as if he was her boss. Damn. That man was good. That realization didn't sit well with her, so she decided to keep to herself for the remainder of the trip.

"We're here."

They stepped out, and Syaoran's brow furrowed when he saw the entrance. "This is it?" He asked skeptically. It didn't look promising.

"Yes. Come on."

He just stood there, already doubtful of Sakura's choice.

"What are you still doing?"

"This is a waste of time."

"No, it's not."

Still no movement.

"Come on!" Sakura repeated, already impatient. "Let's go." Without thinking twice about it, she grabbed his hand. He was surprised at the sudden action so Sakura was able to pull him forward. Syaoran let her led him to a trail.

'Trees, trees, more trees, trees, hey –' "Hey," Syaoran tugged back. "We're going the wrong way." He nodded to the path.

"Who said we're following that?" Sakura continued walking.

Syaoran noticed that the grass didn't seem properly groomed. The plants were a little dry and the leaves were falling from the trees. Geez, if this woman was messing around –

"Almost there..."

Soon enough, they emerged from the cluster of trees. Syaoran was surprised to find himself standing at a beachside.

Sakura watched expectantly as he scouted the area. After a second, she frowned. "Sheesh, loosen up!" She made him walk further along. "You look like you're assessing the place as an opportunity for investment."

He rolled his eyes at her. "I am not." But just in case, he relaxed his posture.

The water was crystal clear, and it was crashing softly against the shore. From what Syaoran could tell, the sand was perfectly fine and white. The place was oddly calming. And the fact that it was hidden gave him the comfort of privacy.

Sakura beamed. "Just imagine this at night. You can see the stars shining brightly!" She rattled on excitedly, "And then we'll fill this place with candles and soft music. We'll have her favorite flowers and serve her favorite dish!"

Syaoran nodded absent-mindedly. "Yeah, this could work..."

"Of course it will!"

* * *

"No!" Sakura protested. She tried fighting against Syaoran's grip on her hand.

Over the course of the week, Sakura and Syaoran met each other again three times. They went back to the park to make the necessary arrangements. Although Syaoran handled it mostly, it was fine with Sakura. She found it endearing that he wanted things perfect for Tomoyo, so she just waited while he discussed and went over every little detail – from privacy and security to appearance and cleanliness.

Syaoran also called and placed a special order of Tomoyo's favorite desert straight from Paris. Then they paid a visit to Tomoyo's favorite Italian restaurant downtown. Sakura threw her input every now and then, but Syaoran dictated exactly how he wanted the food to be done. Presentation included.

Sakura was patient through it all. That was, however, until contracts and confidentiality waivers came into play. She belatedly became conscious that her justification for his behavior was off the mark. Sure, he wanted things to go smoothly for Tomoyo, but more than that, it was due to his nature. Sakura grasped in the fact that he was taking over the situation.

Naturally, she became pissed. And now, she was getting more annoyed because Syaoran refused to go inside the flower shop she suggested. They were arguing for about fifteen minutes now since Syaoran was insisting on another florist, who he already dealt with in the past.

"We're going somewhere else." Syaoran pulled at her again, making her stumble. Incidentally, they also developed their own version of tug o' war. They ended up using force since most of the time, neither wanted to follow the other willingly.

"There's nothing wrong with this place!" With her free hand, Sakura waved her hand to the shop in from of them. "We're going in."

"No, we are not. And that's final."

"God, you are such a control freak!" Sakura finally exclaimed. She was going to stand her ground this time. "Look, I know the owner, and I'm sure this place will meet your standard." She said the last word sarcastically. "Seriously, this place is amazing. And besides, what you wanted is on the other side of the city. We don't have much time. Didn't you say you have dinner with your family later tonight?" Yep, even family dinners were scheduled. That was how much he wanted things in order.

Syaoran's hold loosened, contemplating what she said. They did have time constraint.

"Give it a chance," Sakura continued coaxing. She widened her eyes and stuck her lower lip out. This trick usually worked with her friends. No harm trying it on him.

He merely stared back. However, after a moment, Syaoran sighed. "I need to see some samples first."

Sakura inwardly grinned in victory as she thought, 'Just appeal to his logic, and it wouldn't be totally impossible to crack him.'

* * *

AN: So Tomoyo and Sakura are becoming fast friends. A glimpse on the nature of ExT dynamic. And of course, SxS. They won't instantly fall in love. :) They actually have to like each other first before that. LOL.

Review, review!


	6. Chapter 6

**Destined**

Author's Note: Once again, thank you so much for reading and reviewing! It's really appreciated! :) By the way, did any of you notice that this story is under the genre 'Romance/Drama'? Seriously. Why do you guys keep laughing? Hahaha! But I'm already starting to question why I labeled it that in the first place.

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

Chapter 6

* * *

When Tomoyo said she was going to arrange something for the four of them, Eriol was expecting something along the lines of dinner and drinks. So imagine his surprise when Tomoyo came to him and announced that they were spending a few days at her family's vacation home. Yep, she was taking it way too seriously.

"I'll show you to your room, Sakura," Tomoyo stated as she guided the said girl further inside the house. Since they had spent so many summers here before, the three of them already had rooms of their own. Eriol figured that Tomoyo would conveniently place Sakura in the guest bedroom closest to his.

Syaoran and Eriol were lugging the bags inside when Tomoyo and Sakura returned.

"Eriol, could you please bring Sakura's stuff upstairs? The third bedroom on the left wing."

'I knew it,' Eriol almost said out loud. The second one was his, and the first was Syaoran's. Tomoyo's room was on the right wing. "Yeah, sure."

"No, no, I can do it," Sakura instantly objected.

"It's fine. I've got it." Eriol smiled at her before picking up the bags. Sakura looked like she wanted to wrestle it away from him, and she would have if she wasn't so anxious about the situation.

Syaoran grabbed his and Tomoyo's bags. While at it, he raised a brow at Eriol, silently asking him what was up. Tomoyo actually pleaded for days for Syaoran to take some time off work.

Eriol just sighed in return.

It was late in the afternoon were they were finally settled in. Tomoyo suggested having a bonfire down the beach. She took the opportunity to get Eriol and Sakura alone, so she asked them to get some stuff from the kitchen.

When they were finally by themselves, Sakura's fidgeting got more pronounced. Just to keep her hand busy, she reached up to open the cupboard even though she knew that what Tomoyo asked for weren't there.

"So..." Eriol coughed, rummaging through the contents of the refrigerator. "I think you should know... Tomoyo is trying to set us up."

Sakura paused to look at him, then at the door where Tomoyo disappeared, then back at him... and then burst out laughing.

Eriol was certainly not expecting that. He thought that she would get flustered basing on the edginess that she had been showing all day. "Okay..." He let out a deep breath as he straightened himself. "Well... you can stop laughing now or I might get offended." He playfully scowled at her direction.

Sakura immediately stopped. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean it like that, I swear!" She explained hastily, "It's just that I've been getting that feeling from Tomoyo all day. I don't mean to assume anything but I'm seriously getting paranoid. I mean, when she showed me my room, she practically encouraged me to sneak into yours later tonight!"

He could only look amused. "Really?"

"Yeah. She said that if I couldn't sleep, I could just come to your room and you wouldn't mind keeping me company. She almost gave me a tour of it earlier!"

Eriol laughed. That was such a Tomoyo-thing to do.

"Oh, gosh." Sakura sighed in relief. "At least now I know it isn't just me."

"Hey now, you're starting to wound my ego here."

"No, no – I just, I mean –"

"I'm kidding." He chuckled again. "So... we're good, right?"

"Yeah." Sakura nodded. "I'm just glad it isn't going to be awkward anymore. I mean, you seem nice and all, but I just don't see you as –"

"Whoa. You really have to stop that. I can only take so much," Eriol joked, and her eyes widened. Before she could apologize again, he continued. "It's alright. You're pretty cool so I understand why Tomoyo thought I'll like you. I mean, I do, but..."

"Not that way," Sakura finished for him. She was glad that they felt the same. Even if she hadn't known him long, she already knew that Eriol wasn't the man for her. Not that she was easily dismissing him... she just wasn't drawn to him that way.

No intensity. No... sparks.

Sakura knew that she couldn't offer him anything more than, "Friends?"

"Friends."

* * *

Tomoyo was watching Syaoran stroke the fire when she heard the laughter. She looked up in time to see Eriol talking animatedly to a smiling Sakura.

When the unease of matchmaking was out of the way, Sakura was finally able to enjoy Eriol's company. He was easy going and laid-back, and she liked that. She was also appreciative of the fact that Eriol didn't leave her in the dark and told her straight out what was happening.

Tomoyo grinned slyly, thinking that her plan had worked. "Hey, guys!"

Sakura and Eriol exchanged glances before sniggering. They decided to humor her and sat down next to each other. He leaned down so he could whisper, "I think we should tell her the truth soon before she starts planning a double wedding."

"She'd do that?"

At Sakura's horrified face, he chuckled. "What do you think?"

"Oh, man!" She slapped her forehead. Eriol was just telling her some funny stories about Tomoyo's attempt to set him up. Most of it ended in disaster. "Yeah, we better tell her before this trip is over."

"At least I'll get out of this alive since we're both opposed to it." He smirked. "Strongly, in your case."

She groaned. "I promise to buy some verbal filter once we're back in the city." Sakura took a peek at the other woman. She could feel Tomoyo's eyes watching them every now and then. "What do you think she'll say?"

"She'll get over it." Eriol shrugged. "Although, she's starting to get frustrated. She actually prides herself for her matchmaking skills, but she couldn't find anyone for me."

"Ooh... Maybe I'll help her find you someone." Sakura had a glint in her eyes. "Then again, I don't think I can outdo Tomoyo's choices if I join her." She paused, trying to stop the laughter from bubbling out from her. "She sent you on a blind date with a man!"

"It's not funny," Eriol deadpanned.

"Yes, it is!" Sakura giggled. "I still can't believe she did that!"

Eriol ignored her. "But seriously, please tell me you're joking about the matchmaking thing. Tomoyo's bad enough as it is."

"I'm kidding." She grinned some more before turning serious. "I'm not going to be on your case. Besides, you can't just force it, you know."

"I know," Eriol whispered, almost wryly.

"So you haven't found the one yet?"

He just smiled wistfully.

"Me neither," Sakura continued. "But we'll find them. They're just out there."

"Yeah..."

On the other side, Tomoyo found herself trapped in Eriol's intense gaze. However, when Syaoran sat down on the log beside her, the spell was instantly broken. She turned to him, smiling. "What do you think?"

"Huh?"

"Of them?"

Syaoran followed Tomoyo's discreet gesture. It landed on Sakura and Eriol. He quirked an eyebrow and Tomoyo just nodded. He returned his eyes on them – focused on her.

He had no idea why he hadn't noticed it before, but Sakura was beautiful. She was attractive in her own way – without even trying to. The light from the fire perfectly illuminated her form. Her windblown hair, which she didn't bother fixing by the way, her cute little nose... her pouty pink lips... her eyes – her vibrant green eyes.

"They look good together, do they?"

Though Eriol and Sakura were sitting close to each other, they were not touching at all. They seemed, however, to be engaged in a deep conversation. "Yeah, I guess." He shrugged casually.

In the last couple of hours, Syaoran learned more about Sakura. He found it ironic that even with all the time they spent together, they know nothing about each other.

Uh, well... that wasn't entirely true. They knew some of each other's quirks. And they definitely knew how to get on each other's nerve.

But basic details, not so much. It was only now that Syaoran learned that Sakura was almost two years in Hong Kong. Her father traveled a lot. Her brother was in Tokyo. Her mother passed away when she was young. Her favorite color was pink – the only feminine thing about her in his opinion, which earned him a glare. She loved to read. She treasured her friends and she would do anything for them. She knew how to have fun, but she also took pleasure from some quiet time – he snorted at that – at home. Also, they found out that Sakura had never had a serious boyfriend. Syaoran wanted to comment that she was looking for someone nonexistent, but he didn't want rocks to be thrown at him so he kept it shut.

In return, Sakura heard more about their childhood. She enjoyed their stories, and she could feel the connection between the three of them. She felt grateful that they were welcoming her in their close knit group.

"So I hid their toys, thinking that they'll finally play house with me since they had nothing to play with," Tomoyo was telling her some of the pranks the boys used to do on her. "But they still didn't, so I just played with my dolls again. You know what happened the next day?"

Sakura removed her attention from the roasting marshmallow to look at Tomoyo. "What?"

"I came home and all my Princess Barbies were bald!"

Sakura's eyes widened in horror. "They did not!"

"They totally did." Tomoyo glared at the sniggering men. "They actually burned it."

"I'm sure they got into so much trouble for that."

Tomoyo huffed. "You would think. I mean, they even played with fire. But nooo. Syaoran was a dangerous kid."

Sakura looked curious. "Why? What did he do?"

"He seriously produced tears of his own." Tomoyo nodded emphatically at Sakura's incredulous look. "Just imagine a mini-Syaoran sniffing cutely while saying sorry and that he won't make pretty little girls cry again. Then he even went to as far as saying he feels bad for making beautiful women mad at him too." She rolled her eyes. "Of course, that melted the moms... And fine, me too."

"Oh, god!" Sakura laughed out loud before pointing her stick at Syaoran. "You are such a manipulative ass! Even as a kid!"

Syaoran simply shrugged after taking a sip from his beer can. "Hey, it got us off the hook."

Still thoroughly amused, Sakura then turned to Eriol. "And you? What did you do?"

"I followed Syaoran. I cried." Eriol just smiled innocently. "It wasn't hard to start the waterworks when you're a child standing in front of angry moms."

Sakura's mouth dropped open before laughing again. She couldn't believe that these grown men sitting with her used to get out of trouble... by crying.

"Oh man, you guys are impossible!" She now had her hand over her mouth. "But I bet that was adorable."

"Adorable?" Tomoyo piped in. "You should hear about when they dressed up as –"

"Okay, that's enough."

"It's getting late."

Syaoran and Eriol announced at the same time, obviously trying to cut whatever Tomoyo was going to share. They started picking up the trash, and the ladies laughed at them before helping.

Soon after, Tomoyo dragged Sakura away.

"Thanks again for inviting me."

"No need to thank me." Tomoyo took a quick backward look. The guys were still extinguishing the fire. "Eriol is great, right?"

"Yeah, about that. Eriol's nice –"

"See, I told you!" Tomoyo cut in before Sakura could insert the 'but' part. "So are you guys going to stay up to continue the night?" She beamed happily.

"Er, no..."

Tomoyo's smile didn't even falter. "I understand. You're tired from the trip. You can talk to him more tomorrow when you're in better shape." She pondered for a moment. "But hey, you can still drop by his room. I don't know, just to say goodnight maybe?"

"Uh, I don't think so –"

"You'll stop being shy soon enough!" Tomoyo nudged her playfully.

The conversation was forced to end when the guys caught up to them. They soon reached the house, and to Tomoyo's disappointment, Eriol called it a night.

On the other hand, Sakura still wasn't sleepy so she decided to catch some late night movie. Tomoyo opted to join her, but she wanted to wash up first. However, before walking away, she caught Sakura's gaze and winked.

Sakura could only groan in response. Tomoyo was getting the wrong idea.

* * *

"Oi, kitten."

Tomoyo paused at the doorway of the entertainment room. Her brows furrowed in confusion. 'Kitten?' However, before she could ask, she heard Sakura respond.

"What?"

She saw Sakura lying down the sofa with a frown on her face. She was obviously not fond of the nickname, but she seemed resigned to it. Tomoyo had to wonder what that was about.

"Will you stop that?" Syaoran demanded from his position on the floor. He was leaning against the couch by her feet. "Just choose a freaking channel already."

Sakura continued to flick mindlessly. "I was actually watching something, but you had to go ahead and bitch about it."

"Seriously?" He snorted. "Disney?" Pft. What the hell happened to the movie?

"There's nothing wrong with that." Sakura defended, which earned her an eye-roll from Syaoran.

Tomoyo was surprised when she saw Sakura kick Syaoran's shoulder. She was more surprised when he grabbed a pillow and threw it at Sakura without missing a beat. She was most surprised when the two acted like the exchange didn't even happen.

"Just give me the damn remote."

"Why should I? I was here first."

"Just give me the remote, or I'll flip the couch with you on it."

Before things could get out of hand, Tomoyo decided to make her presence known. "Hey, what are you watching?"

Sakura sat up. "Nothing. I'm still looking."

Whenever Tomoyo was present, a temporary truce was in place. It was a silent agreement that both Sakura and Syaoran were willing to follow. They were actually surprised that they pulled it off earlier.

"I'm going to turn in," Syaoran announced. Since he wouldn't be able to wrestle the remote away from Sakura, he wasn't going to sit there and let her kill his brain cells with her choice.

"Oh, okay..." Tomoyo looked sad for a moment, but she shook it off. "Good night." She reached up to give him a kiss.

Sakura turned her head away to give them privacy. She couldn't help but notice, though, that Syaoran wasn't as affectionate as Tomoyo. 'He's freaking stiff all the time.' She snorted at the thought.

When Syaoran was finally out of the room, Sakura grinned to herself before turning the television back to Disney channel. Hah.

Tomoyo took the seat next to her before starting, "Um, Sakura..." She wanted to apologize for Syaoran's behavior. She had never seen him talk or act like that before. He was always cool and collected, no matter what. "I just – oh my, what happened?"

"Huh? What?" She followed Tomoyo's gaze to her exposed arm. There was an almost purple-bluish mark on it. "Oh." Sakura frowned at the memory.

Syaoran and she spent a few more days together to finalize the details. He also hired a professional to set the place up. Since everything was almost finished, she had been nagging him to get back at him for his bossy attitude. They were actually together just the other day, and she was egging him more than necessary. She might have had hit him a little too hard, too. Since he couldn't exactly retaliate, he resorted to the one thing he could do. He bit her.

'You're fiancée is a rabid dog,' Sakura thought darkly.

"What was that?"

"Uh..." Shoot! She was thinking out loud again. Without having time to think about it, she blurted out, "Syaoran bit me."

Tomoyo froze in shock. She remembered seeing a similar, but bigger, mark on Sakura's shoulder blade earlier. Her eyes trailed to the said spot but it was covered by Sakura's shirt this time. She became uneasy at the thought of how it got there. She knew she had nothing to worry about, but still, thinking about the process... it didn't exactly make her comfortable.

"I'm okay. It was nothing," Sakura tried to wave it off. She was oblivious to the problem. She thought Tomoyo was worried at the idea that Syaoran had hurt her. Against her will, she defended him to ease Tomoyo. "I'm fine. Didn't really hurt." Much.

At the mention of pain, Tomoyo's attention was instantly redirected. "Are you sure? Are you okay?"

"Yep. Hey, you know what, I'm tired. I think I need to get some sleep now. You should, too." Sakura felt guilty for abruptly ending the night, but she wanted to drop the current discussion. She didn't want Tomoyo asking as to when it happened. As far as Tomoyo was concerned, Sakura only saw him once, and that was about two weeks ago. She would avoid lying if she could.

* * *

Sakura rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she headed into the kitchen. She stopped mid-stretch when she spotted Syaoran pouring a cup of coffee. Figures. He was an early riser.

Syaoran felt eyes on him. "What?" He asked curtly. Yeah, they didn't do pleasantries. Hell, they were still trying to pass the stage of co-existing without trying to maim the other.

"Nothing. It's just..." Sakura shrugged nonchalantly. "This is the first time I saw you out of your business suit." She pointed to his gray undershirt and black pajama pants.

"What are you talking about?" He rubbed the side of his face. He wasn't able to shave yet. "I'm wearing casual clothes yesterday."

She nudged him away to get the pot. "Yeah well, I don't exactly check you out every time I see you."

How do you even respond to that? "Uh..." But he could understand where she was coming from. After all, he only started to notice her appearance last night. "Whatever." He walked back to the table and took his seat. His laptop was already open and waiting for him.

"What are you having?"

Syaoran paused before taking a sip. He answered slowly as if he was talking to a little kid, "Coffee."

She rolled her eyes before pushing herself away from the counter. For the next few minutes, all that could be heard was Syaoran's light tapping on the keyboard and Sakura's quiet humming.

"Here."

Syaoran glanced sideways. He was surprised when Sakura placed a plate of food next to him.

She snorted. "What? You expected me to cook only for myself? I'm not that mean, you know."

"You sure it's not poisoned?"

Sakura grabbed his fork and stabbed a portion of his eggs. She chewed and swallowed before gasping sarcastically. "Oh, look, I'm still alive!"

"Thanks," Syaoran muttered. He was about to use his laptop again, but his fingers were almost crushed when Sakura snapped it close. "What the –"

"You can't eat properly if you're working." She quickly snatched the laptop away from him. "Why did you even bring work here? Although short, this is still a vacation. You're supposed to relax."

"Just give it back." He exhaled noisily. "I don't want to miss any important message."

"You're not going to completely miss them. You're just going to get them late," Sakura pointed out before extending her hand. "And while we're at it, give me your phone."

"What? No." He protested, but Sakura just gave him a challenging look. Grudgingly, he handed it over. He knew Sakura would fight for it, and it wasn't such a good idea when she was still holding his laptop. That device had tons of valuable files in it.

Sakura disappeared with his things and came back with her own food. She took the seat across him. "See? That wasn't so hard." The moment she set her plate down, Syaoran reached over and forked a huge chunk of her pancake. "Hey, that's mine!"

He swallowed. "Not anymore."

She leaned forward, but he simply swatted her hand away. After a few maneuvers, she was able to get a strip of his bacon. "Hah!" Sakura held it out smugly. Her smile, however, fell off when Syaoran closed his mouth over her fork. "That's not fair!" She tried again, but this time, Syaoran was also doing the same. For a fraction of a second, the thought of just stabbing his hand crossed her mind.

They were still trying to steal food from each other when Tomoyo walked in. "Um... Good morning?" She looked at them questioningly.

Sakura and Syaoran leaned back guiltily. They almost got caught arguing again.

"Morning, Tomoyo. I made you breakfast, too." Sakura stood up with the intent to get it, but she stopped midway. She was going to leave her food unguarded. And from the smirk on Syaoran's face, he knew it too.

After a moment, Syaoran nodded imperceptibly, letting her know that they were at peace once again. Sakura couldn't help but give him one last warning look before walking away.

With furrowed brows, Tomoyo watched the interaction while taking the seat next to Syaoran.

"Did you sleep well?"

It took a while for Tomoyo to realize that Syaoran had asked her a question. "Oh... oh yeah, I did."

"Here you go." Sakura placed the food in front of her. "What do you want to drink?"

"Oh, no! I'm sorry." Tomoyo couldn't believe that she let Sakura serve her food. With the last couple of minutes shoved at the back of her mind, she stood up. "I'll go get it. Please sit. I'm so sorry."

"It's no big deal." Sakura shrugged it off. She decided to ditch her coffee for an orange juice. She was chugging it down when Eriol walked in.

"Morning," Eriol greeted through his yawn. His plate was already waiting for him. Tomoyo held up the pot of coffee, and he nodded in return. "So... what's the plan?"

"Well..." Tomoyo put the cups down before taking her seat again. "First and foremost, I want to soak up some sun since we didn't get to do that yesterday."

"You want some tan?" Sakura asked conversationally.

"I wish." Tomoyo just sighed. "I don't tan easily. The last time I tried, all I got was sunburns."

Sakura winced. "Then we better douse you with lots of sun block later."

At the pause in conversation, Eriol tried to catch Sakura's attention. "Thanks for this, but do you want some? I don't really eat much in the morning."

"Um, sure."

When Eriol was transferring some of his food to her plate, Sakura kicked Syaoran under the table. He looked up, and she made a discreet gesture to her additional food. Childish, yes, but Sakura still smiled cheekily.

'Pig,' Syaoran mouthed while he kicked back.

Her eyes instantly narrowed. Oh no. He did not just call her that! She was preparing to deliver a hard kick, but Syaoran subtly pulled his chair away from the table. Her leg wouldn't be able to reach him now. It was his turn to smile.

When breakfast was finished, Tomoyo insisted on washing the dishes and Eriol offered to help. Sakura was left with Syaoran, who was cleaning the table. To be perfectly honest, Sakura was not expecting to witness them perform simple household chores.

"Hey..."

Just to spite her, Syaoran asked in a loud voice, "Why are you whisperi – mmf!" His next word was cut off when Sakura clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Are you stupid?" She hissed before letting him go. "When someone whispers, you're supposed to whisper back!"

"You're calling me stupid?" Syaoran shot her an incredulous look before glancing pointedly around them. "There's no one here, and you're the one whispering."

"Yeah, well, I didn't want to risk it." Sakura crossed her arms in front of her. She continued in a hushed tone, "Anyway, do you think Tomoyo noticed anything? We appear polite to each other, right?"

"If she noticed anything about me not treating you 'well' –" He air-quoted the last word, "– then she'll talk to me about it."

"But she hasn't. That's good then."

"Yeah. We should – ow, fuck!" Syaoran almost shouted when he received a nasty blow on his ankle. "What the hell was that for?" He growled low.

"For calling me a pig! You never ever call a woman that!" She huffed before walking out.

"Shit..." Syaoran cursed again before muttering under his breath, "Wasn't aware I was dealing with a woman."

"I heard that!"

* * *

AN: Sakura and Eriol... Nah, I have other plans for them. ;) Anyway, the continuation of this little trip will be in the next chapter. Wonder what will happen. LOL. Thanks again for reading! And I promise to reply to your wonderful reviews once the next chapter is done.

Review, review!


	7. Chapter 7

**Destined**

Author's Note: As promised, here's the next chapter! :) Thank you for leaving me reviews. As always, I loved them! Keep 'em coming, okay? LOL.

Anyway... I've been getting questions regarding Deeper, and admittedly, I've been dodging them –smiles nervously– I'm sorry but I haven't gotten around to finishing it yet. Once I've released all the unfinished chapters of Destined, I'll work on it. Sorry guys. :/

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

Chapter 7

* * *

Tomoyo adjusted her bikini top before lying down on her stomach. She was on her lounge chair, catching a few rays while browsing over some fashion magazine. Of course she brought magazines.

Somewhere to her far right, Syaoran and Eriol were playing a classic game of Frisbee. Once or twice, Tomoyo would stop reading just to watch them. It was fun to see their inner little boy. It also didn't hurt that they were shirtless and sweating.

Further down the beach, Sakura, in her modest green bikini, was trying to build a sandcastle. Well... trying being the keyword. She was getting frustrated that no matter what she did, it wouldn't stay together. Two instances of flying disc crashing her attempts didn't help the matter either. Tomoyo could now see that Sakura was just scribbling something on the sand instead.

"Tomoyo!"

She pushed her sunglasses over her head before turning to the person who called her. She saw Eriol wiping some sweat off his brows. "Done playing?"

"Yeah."

Tomoyo took a quick look around and saw Syaoran leaning over the cooler, getting something to drink.

"And we're ready to leave when you ladies are," Eriol continued, reminding Tomoyo of the group's plan to head out into the open water and do some dolphin watching.

She groaned at that. "Fine. Let me just go and ask Sakura." Tomoyo sat up and walked towards the said girl. "Sakura, are you ready?"

Sakura looked up. "Huh? Oh, yeah."

Tomoyo noticed that Sakura wrote her name with cherry blossom outlines on the sand. "That's really nice."

"Thanks." She smiled before dusting herself. "I'll just go get my camera and take a picture, okay?"

"Sure, that's fine."

Together, they walked back to where Sakura's beach bag was. She dug into her stuff, almost removing everything before she remembered that it was still in her room. "Oh, damn. I left it upstairs."

"You can still go get it. It's okay."

"I won't be long." Sakura grinned before jogging away. She returned to her drawing a few minutes later only to see that someone made a slight adjustment to it.

Below her name was the word 'kitten' with a cat drawing arguably made by a five-year-old beside it. It had a small circle for the head, a bigger one for the body, two pointed triangles for the ears, two dots for the eyes, and a squiggly line for the tail. The oh-so-wonderful masterpiece was completed with fangs and claws.

Sakura scowled, searching for the culprit. Her eyes immediately landed on Syaoran, who was on his way to his privately-owned weekender yacht. She cursed him in her head before pointing out her toes to erase his modification. At the last second, however, she changed her mind. Sakura gave out a defeated sigh before taking a picture the way it was. She took a couple more before she was satisfied.

She then ran back to meet them and helped load some things before accepting Eriol's outstretched hand. "Thank you." Sakura smiled at him before admiring the upper deck. She saw Tomoyo fixing her wide-brimmed hat while Syaoran was standing over the cockpit.

A few minutes later, Sakura found herself grinning as the yacht cruised over the water. It was her first time to do something like this, and so far, she was enjoying the experience.

Tomoyo gave her a tour of the cabin earlier, and she was in awe. It was spacious and was designed to accommodate eight adults. She took in the stylish bathroom showers, along with the top-of-the-line flat screen TV, stereo, air conditioning, refrigerator, stove and so on. Tomoyo also mentioned that this boat was only for Syaoran's own leisure and that the Lis had a more luxurious yacht. Sakura could only wonder what it looked like.

The women appreciated the view of the ocean together, although Sakura was more enthusiastic about it. She took lots of pictures, most of them with Tomoyo and a few with Eriol. At one point, she sat next to Syaoran and marveled over the navigational gears. It was fully equipped with GPS, radars, radio... well, Sakura really didn't know most of what she was looking at.

Before Syaoran shooed her away, she insisted on him doing some funny poses so she could take a picture. He didn't do it. He didn't even think about doing it. Spoilsport.

"There they are."

Eriol's voice broke the ladies from their camera-whoring.

"Where? Where?" Sakura smiled excitedly as she bounded next to him. Eriol pointed out to where the group of dolphins was swimming. "Oh, wow..." She gripped the railing so she could lean her body forward. "Can we come closer?"

"No."

Sakura was momentarily surprised at Syaoran's voice. She didn't see him coming near them. Before she could ask if he was just being mean, he continued to explain.

"It would disturb the water and they might go away."

"Oh..." Sakura pursed her lips before turning her attention back to the ocean. They watched contentedly as the aquatic mammals played and socialized. Sakura 'oohed' and 'aahed' every time the dolphins would do jumps or perform summersaults.

At some stage during their private show, Sakura was provided with an underwater microphone so she could hear the clicks and whistles as the dolphin communicated with each other. Needless to say, she was fascinated.

"I take it that you enjoyed the experience?" Eriol turned to her.

"Absolutely! That was incredible!"

Sakura was still gushing even after they docked. Syaoran and Tomoyo separated from them because they wanted to take a walk. Well... actually, it was Syaoran who wanted to, and Tomoyo decided to tag along even though she initially planned on resting upon their return.

"They're such an amazing creature. It's too bad I can't swim with them." Sakura sighed. Since the dolphins weren't trained, she couldn't do the kinds of interactions she wanted. The trio went somewhere else for that.

"We can bring you there next time," Eriol suggested as they made their way back to the house. A soft smile then graced his face, "Don't tell Tomoyo I told you this, but she freaked out the first time she touched a dolphin."

"She did?"

"Yep." Eriol started grinning at the memory. "We were, like, seven or eight that time. She ran away and cried her eyes out. It was funny."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "There's nothing funny about a crying little girl."

Eriol shrugged, mussing up his hair. "Seriously though, you should have seen her. She refused to go near or see anything with dolphins days after."

"I don't get it," Sakura wondered out loud. She extended her arms towards the ocean. "What's to be scared about? Dolphins are wonderful."

"Something about the texture? The way it looks?" He shrugged again. "I'm not sure. I was too busy trying to sneak in dolphin plushies to her room."

Sakura's turned to him with a disbelieving look. "You did not."

"Er... I was young?" Eriol flashed an innocent look after his lame excuse.

"That was mean. Poor Tomoyo. But I'm glad she's over it now – wait..." Sakura paused. "She is over it, right? Or was she seriously freaking on the inside and I was too stupid to notice?"

Eriol laughed lightly. "She's over it. Took years, but she is."

"Good, good." Sakura smiled again. "Especially since you guys have a beautiful place such as this. It's good that she enjoys what it offers."

"Enjoy might be a strong term..." He thought for a moment. "Tolerate, more like."

"Ah..." Sakura let it go. People had different tastes. "Oh!" She exclaimed, suddenly remembering something. "I saw a body board inside the house. Can we do that?"

"You know how?"

"Err... no." She grinned sheepishly. Sakura stopped to remove her flip flops. She wanted to feel the sand beneath her feet as the water splashed her ankles. "Can you teach me?"

Eriol shot her an apologetic look before gesturing to the water like she did earlier. "This beach isn't really appropriate for that. There are no huge waves. You wouldn't be able to catch and ride it."

"Oh." Disappointment laced Sakura's tone and that made Eriol chuckle. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing." He smirked. "I just remembered seeing the same look on Syaoran's face when he realized that."

"He body boards?" Sakura halted in her steps again. This time, she bent down to retrieve a couple of sea shells.

"He surfs mostly, actually," Eriol corrected. "But he wanted to learn how to body board, too. He bought one and brought it here, only to find out that he couldn't."

"I see..." She nodded absentmindedly. Every now and then, Sakura would stop to collect more shells while Eriol waited patiently for her. "But when we go to some other beach the next time, you can teach me, right?"

He winced at her hopeful look. "I don't know really know how. I wasn't interested to learn it," Eriol admitted. "But if you really want, you could always ask Syaoran."

"Mmhm..." Sakura allowed a noncommittal reply. Ask Syaoran. Yeah, right. Knowing him, he would probably make her beg and do some silly favors. And at the end of it all, he would probably still say no.

"Here. Let me hold some for you," Eriol reached with his palm out so Sakura could deposit some of the shells to his hand since hers was almost full. "What are you going to do with these?"

"Thanks." She smiled briefly before answering his question, "I'm not sure. I was thinking of placing them inside a glass jar or something." Sakura scrunched her forehead. "A souvenir of some sort, I guess."

"Maybe you should get some sand, too," Eriol suggested.

"Yeah, that's a good idea." Sakura nodded. "I'll get some later. I don't have anything to put those in right now."

When Sakura was pleased with the shells she gathered, they continued their way back to the house.

"You know how to use a Jet Ski?" Eriol asked casually. If he was right, Sakura was still itching to do some water activities. She was noticeably done with swimming and snorkeling.

Sakura's eyes instantly glittered in excitement. "You have one here?"

"Two. Mine and Tomoyo's," Eriol stated. "You want to try?"

"Hell yeah!"

After cleaning up and putting the shells back in her room, Sakura found herself standing in front of the Jet Skis. She could easily tell which one was Tomoyo's. Er... unless she was mistaken and Eriol had his customized and repainted with purple and pink swirls. According to him, Tomoyo wouldn't mind if they borrowed hers since she didn't really use it much anyway.

"You seem eager about this stuff," Eriol commented as Sakura secured her life jacket. "Tomoyo isn't."

She looked back, confused. "Then why does she have one?"

"She wanted to learn when Syaoran and I became interested."

"Where's Li's?"

"I don't know." His brows furrowed. "Probably wherever his other boards are. He wakeboards, too. He loves water sports."

They agreed that Sakura would ride with Eriol first so she could get a feel of what she would do. They would practice making turns until she was comfortable at the sensation.

A few short rides later, Sakura was ready to do it on her own. Upon closer inspection, she realized that Tomoyo's Jet Ski was smaller and lighter even though it was also a two-seater. It didn't really matter, though, since she was only a beginner.

After attaching the engine shut-off clip to her wrist, Sakura positioned her hands on the handlebars and started it. She kept it slow, but she got bored so she gradually took it to a higher speed. She was laughing and shouting as Eriol rode a few feet from her.

"Hey guys!" Tomoyo waved at them as Syaoran and she arrived.

Sakura and Eriol noticed them at the same time. Eriol executed a perfect turn, but Sakura forgot that she was going on a speed faster than she was used to so she got thrown off. Her engine automatically died.

"Oh my!" Tomoyo gasped as her hand flew over her mouth.

Eriol was about to go back when he realized what happened, but Sakura broke out from the surface at that moment. She laughed, "I'm fine! I'm fine!" She swam back to the idle Jet Ski and lifted herself up. She started the engine again before bringing it back to the shore. "That was so much fun!" Sakura exclaimed, still filled with adrenaline. She liked the thrill and the feeling of water splashing her face and body. "Come on, Tomoyo. Let's ride together!"

"You can have mine, Sakura," Eriol offered. He wanted to rest for a while.

"Thanks! Tomoyo?"

"Oh, um..." Tomoyo tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. She looked back apologetically. She wasn't really a fan.

"That's okay," Sakura waved it off quickly. She didn't want Tomoyo to feel guilty for not doing what she didn't want to. Her bottom lip pouted unconsciously as she stared at the Jet Skis. "I guess we should bring them back –"

"I'll take Eriol's," Syaoran stated as he grabbed Eriol's discarded life jacket.

"Really?" Before she could feel grateful, Syaoran gave her a challenging look. Sakura was not one to back down. She whispered in a low voice so only Syaoran could hear, "I'm gonna drown your sorry ass."

* * *

Sakura woke up in the middle night with the need to relieve her bladder. "Ungh..." Still half-asleep, she rolled herself out of bed... only to fall directly to the floor. "Oww..." She groaned at the impact. She obviously miscalculated her position from the edge of the bed. "Damn it!"

Disgruntled, she kicked off the sheet that was now tangled on the floor with her. She rolled to her hands and knees and tried to lift herself up. However, she misjudged the distance again and the side of her head collided with the corner of the nightstand.

"Ow, ow! Shit – ouch!" If the fall didn't completely wake her, the blow on her head surely did. Sakura cradled her forehead, and she felt warm liquid seeping through her fingers. The sharp edge was able to cut her skin. "Oh, crap..."

Being careful this time around, Sakura stood up and made her way to the bathroom. After opening the light, she inspected herself on the mirror. The cut was long but thankfully, it was shallow. When she couldn't find any first-aid kit, she settled for a small towel and pressed it to her injury.

Her head now matched the ache that she was feeling in her body. Falling numerous times from the Jet Ski would do that to you.

Sakura was still thinking of the possible location of the bandages when she heard a door shut. She hastily walked out to catch whoever it was. "Hey – oh... Li..."

Syaoran turned around in the dim hallway. He was clearly not in the mood. He was tired and he just wanted to get some water. Whatever annoying crap she had to say, he had no patience to hear it.

On the other hand, Sakura was biting her lip uncertainly. Aside from Syaoran's current unwelcoming air, she was too prideful to ask him for help. "Never mind..."

Syaoran grunted. He was about to walk away, but he caught sight of the bloodied towel on her forehead. "... What the fuck? What did you do?"

She frowned at the way he asked the question. "Well, Li, I intentionally banged my head because I thought it would be fun –" Sakura suddenly stiffened when he came closer. He wouldn't hurt her now, would he? Surprisingly, his touch was gentle as he removed the towel. She was forced to tilt her head up so he could examine the wound.

"You need to get that cleaned up."

"Couldn't find any supply – wha –"

Sakura almost stumbled when Syaoran grabbed her.

"Where are we going?" Her question was soon answered, and she found herself sitting on the edge of his tub. Sakura huffed with distrustful eyes. "I can do it, you know. Just give me –" She stifled a gasp when she finally looked at him.

Syaoran... was only in his boxers.

Shit.

Gorgeous face. Gorgeous body. Damn it.

How the hell could she miss this earlier? For most of the day, Syaoran was not wearing a shirt. How could she not notice that... that body?

Sakura found herself staring. She was mesmerized by the way the muscles on his back moved as he reached for the bottle of antiseptic. Who knew a back could be so sexy? 'I bet he has a six-pack, too.'

"Yes, I do."

Sakura's jaw dropped open. 'Fuck fuck fuck!' She quickly averted her eyes. Fuck her thoughts! They never learned to stay in her head! Sakura was sure that her cut was bleeding more, what with all the blood rushing to her face now.

Syaoran crouched before her, and Sakura couldn't help but glance down. When he confirmed it, it was practically an invitation to look, right?

Right?

Yep, amazing abs.

"Ouch!" Sakura suddenly hissed when he started dabbing. "You could have warned me, you know!"

"I didn't want to disturb you. You seemed to be enjoying yourself."

From the smirk on his face, she knew she was caught looking again. "No, I wasn't," Sakura denied pathetically through gritted teeth.

"Sure. Whatever you say."

She rolled her eyes at his patronizing tone. However, her eyes betrayed her again as it landed somewhere else.

Oh.

My.

Effing.

God.

He had a tattoo.

Near his left hipbone.

Sakura couldn't make out what it was since it was mostly covered by his boxers. She knew that more women than men choose the hip area for tattoos. It was sexier for females, but on him...

'Oh, god.' She forced her eyes shut while she chastised herself. This was her friend's fiancée! Stop gawking!

But honestly, with that body and sinful tattoo... who would not look?

'I won't,' Sakura thought determinedly as she took a deep breath. Wrong move. She practically inhaled the air he exhaled. She didn't realize that they were that close.

"Whoa. You okay?" Syaoran steadied her by the arms when she swayed.

Sakura groaned. His close proximity was fogging up her thinking. She needed him to be a jerk – to remind her why she didn't like him in the first place.

"Seriously, you shouldn't play in the dark next time."

And there you have it.

* * *

Tomoyo couldn't sleep. She always had trouble sleeping during the first week. Usually, she would sneak in to Eriol's room and they would talk about the most mundane things until she got so tired and all she could do was crawl back to her room and pass out. She would have sneaked into Syaoran's, but he valued his privacy and she learned to respect that.

She was still deliberating whether to visit Eriol when she remembered that she suggested the same thing to Sakura the previous night. Tomoyo smiled to herself. She saw that Sakura and Eriol got along well yesterday and today.

'Only one way to find out.'

Grinning mischievously, Tomoyo stood up. She walked silently out of her room and across the floor. She smiled widely when she heard a stifled shriek, followed by quick footsteps. Before she could congratulate herself, Syaoran's door was thrown open and Sakura came running out.

Tomoyo was frozen on the corner. 'What...'

Sakura ducked into her room and Syaoran was hot on her heels, not hesitating to follow her inside.

"Ew, Li! No!"

After fixing her up, Syaoran became snooty about the bloody towel. Yeah, she wished that he would revert back to his asshole self, but the wish was being taken too far. Having had enough of him, she took the towel and smeared it over his arms.

Unfortunately, he was now trying to wipe it on her face.

"Get that away! That's gross!"

"Gross? And what you did to me isn't?"

Tomoyo was still. She couldn't see them and she could barely hear what they were talking about. But she knew she had nothing to worry about, right? She could just walk up to them and ask if there was a problem, right?

"No, stop!"

"Not a chance!"

After more muffled voices and a few thumps here and there, Tomoyo was finally able to force herself to move towards the open door. The sight that greeted her stunned her.

Sakura was on her back. Her upper half was practically off the bed as Syaoran hovered over her. Syaoran... who was still in his freaking boxers.

Tomoyo could see that Sakura was leaning away from a piece of cloth that Syaoran was shoving at her face. He supported himself by one hand while the other was holding the offending material. Sakura was gripping the edge of the bed and trying to get away from him by moving back. She then pushed back a little too hard, and that resulted to the back of her head hitting the same nightstand.

"Ow, ow, ow!"

Tomoyo's first instinct was to go to them and make sure that Sakura was okay, but she was once again rendered immobile when Syaoran immediately reached over and helped Sakura sit up.

"Oh fuck..." Syaoran instantly checked her head for any bump. Though she was exasperating most of the time, he never intended to give her a concussion.

"Ouch..." Sakura winced when his hand touched the tender spot.

Tomoyo was still standing outside the door. They hadn't noticed her yet, and she was almost positive that they were also unaware of their current position... but Tomoyo certainly wasn't. She watched as Sakura sat on Syaoran's lap, while he continued to fuss over her head.

"Ouch! Stop touching it, you moron!"

"Will you just stay still?!"

From their language, Tomoyo could tell that nothing was going on behind her back. And apart from that, she trusted Syaoran. She also trusted Sakura. She knew that they weren't engaging in anything that would hurt her.

But still, she wasn't comforted by that. She was anxious at the way Sakura and Syaoran acted around each other, and it bothered her more that they did it unconsciously. Tomoyo could see that Syaoran's guard was mostly down – something he rarely ever did.

'Syaoran loves me,' Tomoyo reminded herself. 'Syaoran wants me.' But why was she having a hard time believing it now?

"We need to get you some ice."

"Wait, I gotta pee first."

What the... Syaoran wanted to ask if she was serious, but Sakura was already getting up and heading towards the bathroom. Weird woman.

'No, shit. She wiped blood on you as if it was some freaking icing on a cake.' He shook his head helplessly at the sight of dried blood on his arms. Syaoran decided to wash it away downstairs. "I'm going to go on ahead."

"I'll be right behind you," Sakura called back.

"Don't fall down. It's a long way to the hospital from here." Syaoran stood and picked up the abandoned towel. He glanced at the closed bathroom door before rubbing the towel on her pillow.

"It's a good thing you know how to drive a boat then."

"What makes you think I'll bring you back to the city? You're going to have to learn to operate that on your own." Syaoran rolled back his shoulder. "On second thought, just stay here. I'll bring back the ice." He offered because he was feeling a little guilty. And because he really didn't want to navigate back to the city.

Tomoyo didn't know what compelled her, but before Syaoran could turn, she darted around the corner and hid herself. She watched mutely as he descended the stairs. A minute later, a yawning Sakura followed, only to bump into Syaoran.

"Don't you ever listen? I told you to fucking stay there."

"I hit my head, Li, but I still can walk. I'm not disabled." Sakura took the pack of ice before muttering, "Thanks..."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

"Wait!" Sakura called when he was about to walk away.

"What?"

She shifted her weight uneasily. Sakura was about to do something neither of them did before. 'I can do this.' Taking a deep breath, she mustered up the courage... to greet him politely. "Good night."

Syaoran looked at her strangely before rolling his eyes. "Yeah. Night."

With one last look at each other, they separated and went to their own rooms.

'It was nothing,' Tomoyo told herself. 'It was nothing.' There was no further contact between Sakura and Syaoran. That was it. 'It was nothing. Nothing.'

* * *

AN: There you go! :) I don't know what to say. Hehehe. Just review, review!! :)


	8. Chapter 8

**Destined**

Author's Note: For those of you who weren't aware, I lost my files late last year (Deeper and Destined included). That's the reason why it took a lot longer for this to come out. I was actually done re-writing this chapter more than a month ago, but I lost it. Again. So yeah, it was pretty frustrating. But finally, here it is.

I want to thank you guys for being so patient. Thank you so, so much! This is, like, the third completed version and I think only around half of what's written here was similar to the original chapter, but I still hope you guys like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

Chapter 8

* * *

"G'morning Sakura."

Sakura paused on her way to her corner office desk. "Oh hey, Naoko." She readjusted the folders in her arms as she wondered out loud, "Didn't hear you leave this morning."

"You looked so tired when you came home from your trip last night so I decided to let you sleep a bit more."

"Thanks." Sakura smiled sweetly. She appreciated the gesture. "I was tired, but it was fun. I'll tell you about it later. Lunch?"

"Of course." Naoko rubbed her stomach absent-mindedly. The gesture brought Sakura's focus to it and her smile widened.

"How's the baby? How are you?"

"Good. Great. Wonderful." Naoko beamed. "We actually have an appointment with the doctor later. We're going to try and find out the gender of the baby."

"Really? That's so exciting!"

"I know! By the way, did you get the article you were asking for?"

"Yeah," Sakura nodded. "I'll send it right back after I'm done with it."

"Okay. Oh wait – before I forget, Chiharu is looking for you."

"She is?" Sakura turned to look at Chiharu's cubicle. It was empty. "She's not there. I'll look for her later. I'm going to drop these at my desk first." She lifted her arms to gesture at the files she was carrying.

"Let me help you with that." Naoko made a move to stand up, but Sakura already stepped out of her reach.

"Nah, I've got this. You just stay there."

"Fine, fine." Naoko rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

Sakura just smiled at her again before continuing her trip to her desk. After arranging and sorting out the papers she needed, she proceeded to the office pantry. She immediately spotted Chiharu by the coffee maker. "I knew I'd find you here. Naoko said you were looking..." Sakura trailed off when she noticed that they weren't alone. A tall, silver-haired man was standing next to her friend.

Chiharu barely looked up. "Sakura, this is our new editor, Yukito. Yukito, this is my friend, Sakura. She's the one I was telling you about."

"Hello." Yukito smiled kindly.

Sakura tried to return it, but it probably looked like a grimace. She heard how Chiharu emphasized that she was telling Yukito all about her. "Um, hi."

"I've heard great things about you."

"Oh." Sakura glanced at Chiharu. She was obviously taking her time pouring coffee. "Um..."

Yukito took it upon himself to politely continue the conversation. "We'll be working closely together, so I hope we can get along."

"Uh..." Sakura shifted her weight nervously. "Yeah... sure..."

Ugh! She always turned into an uncomfortable, bumbling idiot when she was being set up. She just couldn't help it! This was what happened between her and Eriol. Thankfully, they got past that. This time, however, Yukito didn't seem to be aware that Chiharu was trying to set them up.

After an awkward silence, someone above finally decided to take pity on her. A colleague called Yukito outside.

"So I guess I'll see you later?"

"Uh... okay."

The moment Yukito was out the door, Sakura smacked herself. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Monosyllabic answers? Really? That was all she could manage? "Stupid..." Her muttering was interrupted by Chiharu.

"Hot, right?"

Sakura instantly shot her friend the evil eye. Chiharu was trying to hide her smile behind her mug, but it was useless.

"His first day was when you took your vacation leave so you didn't get to meet him," Chiharu explained as she placed her mug down.

"Whatever you're trying to do –"

"I'm not doing anything," Chiharu stated, convincing no one. "Oh, come on, give it a shot."

"You know how I feel about that." Sakura frowned as she leaned against the wall next to Chiharu. "And besides, were you not here the last couple of minutes? Did you not see me make a fool of myself? I doubt he wants to come close to me after that."

"Oh, please." Chiharu narrowed her eyes at her friend. "I saw the way he looked at you. So trust me, he does." She continued to urge, "If you talk to him, you'll see that he's nice and smart, too. I mean, when I first saw him, I just knew you'd be good together."

Sakura chose not to answer. She just crossed her arms in front of her chest. What she knew was that as long as Chiharu was pushing it, she wouldn't be able to properly get to know Yukito. It was the type of pressure she couldn't work under. She didn't want to work it, honestly. When it came to these things, she didn't want anything to feel forced. The connection should just be there.

"But admit it, he's hot." Chiharu sighed dreamily. "That unique-coloured hair... those glasses..."

"You have a boyfriend."

"Who I love, thank you very much. But that doesn't mean I can't look."

Sakura just shook her head helplessly. "Let's go back to work."

"But –"

"Chiharu."

"Oh, fine. This isn't over."

"Yes, it is."

* * *

"I expect the final drafts on my desk Thursday morning." The speaker stopped talking when a loud vibration echoed throughout the room.

Sakura quickly snatched her phone off the table before shooting everyone an apologetic look. When the meeting resumed, Sakura took a glance at the screen.

_Li Syaoran calling..._

Huh?

She rejected it only to have it vibrate against her hand a few seconds later. After making sure that no one was looking, Sakura rejected the call again and typed a quick message. _Can't answer. In a meeting._

_Is it almost over?_

She rolled her eyes. What an impatient man. _What do you want?_

_I'm already free for lunch._

Her brows furrowed. _So?_

_What do you mean so? We're meeting up, remember?_

Oh... right.

Sakura could already imagine him running his hand through his hair in frustration, thinking that she forgot. Well... she did. After a couple of minutes with no reply from her, Syaoran started calling again. See? Really impatient.

"Come on."

Sakura was startled when a hand was placed on her shoulder. She looked up and saw Chiharu staring at her expectantly. "What?" She glanced around and saw that people were leaving. Oh. The meeting was over.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah." Sakura stood up.

"So we were thinking of trying that new restaurant that opened down the street," Chiharu continued talking as they walked out of the room. "The others already went ahead, but Naoko is waiting for us by your desk."

"Yeah, about that... I don't think –" She paused when her phone vibrated again. "Let me just get this."

"Sure." Chiharu met up with Naoko while Sakura lingered behind. She took a deep breath before answering.

"I admit, I forgot," Sakura launched on immediately. "I already made plans with others, but I'm –"

"How can you forget?" Syaoran's irritated voice came from the other line. "You're the one who insisted we meet today."

"I know, I know. It just slipped my mind, okay? But you reminded me, not so kindly, so –"

"I didn't reschedule for nothing."

Sakura was also starting to get infuriated. "Okay, first, stop cutting me off. Second, I only insisted on doing this today because you'll be gone the next few days. Third, I'm not cancelling on you. I gave you my word –"

"Which you forgot."

It took a lot from Sakura not to scream right there and then. Even if they weren't face to face, he knew how to get under her skin. He interrupted her intentionally while rubbing in, yet again, the fact that she forgot.

"I'm picking you up."

"What? No!" Sakura controlled herself. Did he really think she was going to ditch him? Didn't he believe in her at all? "You know what, forget it! You can go pick that ring by yourself!" She didn't give him a chance to reply as she hung up right away. She was lying, though. She was still going to meet him at the jewelry shop.

Sakura calmed herself for a minute and rearranged her facial expression before walking towards her friends.

"Is something wrong?"

She must not have done a good job from the concerned look Naoko and Chiharu was giving her.

"No, no. Everything's fine." She gave a dismissive shrug. "Listen guys, I'm not going to be able to come with you today."

"Why not?" Chiharu asked. "Yukito is going to be there."

"I just remembered that I have something else I need to do."

"We can help you," Naoko offered.

"No, it's okay. Thanks, though."

"But Yukito is going to be there," Chiharu repeated.

Before Sakura could respond, Naoko cut in.

"Who is that eye-candy?"

Both Chiharu and Sakura followed their friend's gaze. Their mouths dropped open but for completely different reason.

"Eye-candy? Try man-meat," Chiharu whistled lowly.

Sakura continued gaping. Syaoran was standing there and searching around the almost empty office. Their eyes met and Sakura instantly tensed. They just got off the phone less than five minutes ago! That meant Syaoran was already on his way to get her even before he told her.

"Yukito made me want to look," Chiharu continued. "Whoever that is made me want to touch."

"And lick," Naoko added.

"Yeah, definitely lick – hey wait!" Chiharu shot her a mock-scandalous look. "You can't say that while you're carrying another man's baby."

"Oh, please." They wriggled their eyebrows at each other before laughing over their silliness. "How about you, Sakura? What do you want to do?"

Honestly? She wanted to hit him. His vote of confidence in her was really touching.

'Jerk!' Sakura stood straighter, ready for a new round with him. So imagine her shock when, instead of dragging her out, he flashed a charming smile.

"Ladies."

Sakura swore she heard a breathless sigh before her friends answered. "Hi. Can we help you?"

"Yes, actually, you can." Syaoran stood closer to her and placed a hand on her elbow. "I was wondering if I could borrow kit- I mean, Miss Kinomoto for the lunch hour?"

Naoko and Chiharu gave her a surprised look, but they promptly got over it. "Sure! Of course!"

Sakura was confused over the turn of events. But when the grip on her elbow got tighter, she realized what was happening.

"Are you sure it's not a bother?" His voice was deep and husky, not betraying anything. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"No, no! Of course not!"

If Sakura didn't know any better, she, too, would fall victim to his allure. However, she caught on and that pissed her more. He was still annoyed with her, but he was charming the shit out of her friends so that her friends would be the one forcing her to go with him. Unfortunately for Sakura, it was working.

"What are we still doing standing here? Let's go!" Chiharu stated after flashing Sakura a discreet I-want-to-know-all-the-dirty-details look.

Sakura tried to shake her head, telling her that it wasn't what she thought it was, but Chiharu and Naoko were already walking away. She was forced to move when the hand on her elbow pulled her. She glared at him, hissing, "I can't believe you'd do this!"

"I didn't reschedule a conference for nothing."

She shoved her hands inside her pocket to prevent herself from assaulting him. She sighed heavily. "Don't you trust me?"

"Whether I trust you or not has nothing to do with this."

Sakura opened her mouth only to shut it close again. She didn't want to, but she understood what he didn't say. He couldn't help it either. He was just making sure that, like always, everything was going according to his plan. When a problem occurred, he went and fixed it himself.

Their conversation was put to a temporary hold when they arrived in front of the elevator. Naoko was holding the door open for them. Sakura managed a small smile. "Thanks."

Syaoran's hand slid from her elbow to the small of her back as he guided her inside then to the corner.

When her friends were busy discussing food options, Sakura took the chance. "You didn't have to do this." She tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ear. "I wasn't going to bail out on you."

"That wasn't what you said earlier." Syaoran brushed some imaginary lint from his suit. Their casual actions revealed nothing of the tension between them.

"I only said that because you were –" She stopped herself, not wanting to draw it out. "Okay, I'm sorry about that. And I'm sorry for hanging up, too." Sakura looked up at him, but he said nothing. "It's your turn."

He gave her a sideway glance. "For what?"

"I said sorry. Now it's your turn."

"Didn't ask for it."

Sakura's lips formed into a tight line. Of course. How could she even expect that from him? This man never apologized for anything.

It was a few moments when Sakura spoke again. "You could trust me you know." Her shoulders slumped as she went back to their previous topic. "At least have a little faith. I thought I showed you how committed I am to this by now."

The rest of the elevator ride was spent in silence. Chiharu and Naoko waved goodbye before going ahead. As per habit, Syaoran grabbed Sakura's hand as they went out. When they were finally out of the building, Sakura felt a light squeeze on her hand. She looked up, but Syaoran was staring straight ahead. She didn't know what it was, but she decided to take it as his way of apologizing. She squeezed back.

* * *

"I like the cut you did on this. The pattern suits the fabric –" Eriol clamped his mouth shut. He couldn't believe he was making a comment about this. Slowly, he stepped away from the unfinished dress worn by the mannequin.

Tomoyo gave a soft laugh beside him. "That's what you get for always hanging out around here."

He gave a quick look around Tomoyo's workroom before resting his eyes on her. "Well, yeah, I pity that you're always locked here so I decided to accompany you whenever I'm available." He shrugged. "Although, let's not forget that you were the one who asked me to come today."

Tomoyo gradually turned solemn. "Yeah, I did." She walked towards the sofa situated near the wall. She took her time to gather her thoughts while Eriol sat across from her. After awhile, she asked, "Did you talk to Syaoran lately? Did he tell you anything?"

Eriol's brows furrowed. The last time Syaoran and he talked was about the car he wanted to buy and the game they missed last night. He doubted Tomoyo was asking about that. "No. Why? What's wrong?"

"Anything? Anything at all?" A hint of desperation was present in her voice when she asked again.

He frowned. There really was nothing. "Is there a problem between you guys? Do you want me talk to him about it? I'll talk to him –"

"No, no." Tomoyo stopped him when he was halfway out of his chair. "There's no... I don't think... no, there's no problem. At least, I don't, I mean..." She trailed off, struggling for words.

Eriol leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees. "What's wrong?"

She played with her fingers that were on her lap. "Nothing. It's just... he's..." She breathed out heavily. "He's distant."

He regarded her for a moment. Sad to say, they had this conversation a few times before. "You know how he is," he started softly. "He likes his space. He's not the type to share his every thought. We know that more than anyone."

"I know." Tomoyo let out a defeated sigh.

"Maybe he's just busy with work," Eriol tried to placate her. "I know he's about to start on his current project soon and he's getting everything and everyone else ready."

"Yeah, maybe," Tomoyo allowed. She also knew about that. Not wanting to over think things, she decided to just accept that explanation. "Maybe you're right." And maybe they just needed to talk. Glancing up at the clock, she realized that Syaoran was probably on break. "Know what, I think I should visit him." Not giving Eriol a chance to respond, she dug through her purse and took out her phone.

Eriol stood up, giving her privacy. He went over to her work table and scanned her drawings. She really was talented.

"Hey Syaoran. I'm going to drop by your office. Do you want – where are you?"

His head shot up at Tomoyo's sudden change in question.

"Oh... Well, I'll get you something else then. How about – oh... okay... I see. Bye."

After hanging up, Eriol waited for her to say something. However, a couple of minutes had passed and she still hadn't moved. "Tomoyo?"

Though his voice was gentle, she was still startled. She forgot that she wasn't alone. "He's on his way home. He's not feeling well. He didn't want me to come," Tomoyo repeated almost robotically.

"Maybe he just doesn't want you to catch whatever it is he has."

"Yeah, that's what he said." Tomoyo loosened the grip she had on her phone. "Hey, didn't you say you have a meeting later?"

Eriol didn't say anything like that. It hurt that she was sending him away... but he understood what she needed. He knew that Tomoyo wanted to be left alone. "Yeah. I should probably get going."

Tomoyo walked him towards the door. She gave him an apologetic look. "Thank you for being here today."

He just nodded as he stepped out and closed the door behind him. "Anytime, Tomoyo. Anytime."

* * *

Syaoran returned his phone back to his pocket. He didn't like to lie, but Tomoyo's phone call caught him off-guard so he used the excuse Sakura suggested from before. Not wanting to dwell on it, he followed Sakura inside the shop.

"I can't believe you closed the store for the entire day when we're just going to be here for an hour at most." They easily slipped back to their usual banter.

"Then stay here for the rest of the day if that makes you feel bad."

"Hmp." Doesn't matter. Sakura let it go as a bright smile lit her face. She had been waiting for this for days! They were going to pick out Tomoyo's engagement ring! "Hey, how come I never saw her previous one?"

"She stopped wearing it after the almost-wedding."

"Oh." Sakura nodded. "So what does it look like?"

"Uh... Gold?"

"And?"

"With stones?"

She stared up at him, waiting for him to elaborate, but he stared back blankly. Sakura sighed. He did warn her that he knew shit about this stuff. He wasn't the one who chose Tomoyo's previous ring.

"What color?"

"What?"

"The ring."

"Yellow?"

This would get them nowhere. "Okay. I usually see her wear white gold or platinum. Can we go we that?"

"Sure. Whatever."

Sakura turned to the manager. "Can we see the timeless pieces? The more vintage ones?"

"Of course, follow me please." The manager led them further inside, where rows of classic looking jewelries were on display.

"Wow..." Sakura's face was full of wonder she gazed at the rings behind the glass. They were all breathtakingly nice. And sparkly. She liked sparkly things.

"How about that one?"

She moved closer to see what Syaoran was pointing at. She gave him a dry look less than a second after. Did he really expect to just pick the one with the biggest stone and call it a day?

"Ah, yes. Good choice," the manager interjected.

Sakura just shook her head. "No, I don't think that's the one." She couldn't see Tomoyo in that ring.

The two of them started pointing out what they thought looked good while the manager took it out for closer inspection. He stayed quiet after Syaoran, in not so many words, made it clear that he didn't care about his personal opinion.

Incidentally, they also used Sakura's finger as a dummy. Syaoran made a jab about her fingers being fat. She knew he was just trying to get a rise out of her, but she still fumed. Admittedly, Tomoyo had those cartoon princesses' white, long and slender fingers, but that didn't make hers fat. She pinched his side as a form of retaliation.

"This is nice. A little flashy, but still lovely." Sakura held her hand out. It had a center princess cut diamond with flawlessly matched pear-shaped blue sapphires as side stones. The band was also paved with little round diamonds.

"Hmm... yeah, it's nice. How about that?"

Sakura gave him a quick glare. She wasn't done admiring the ring yet. With a huff, she started removing it. Apparently, she wasn't moving fast enough for him because he finished the job and slid the new ring on her finger.

"Oh... this is beautiful." She stared in awe. It was just a simple solitaire diamond on prong setting, but it truly caught her eye. Sakura adjusted her hand and marvelled at the way the round brilliant cut reflected the light. It didn't need any side stones to enhance its beauty. It just stood out on its own.

Syaoran remained silent as he studied the ring on Sakura's finger. She didn't care that he was taking longer. She kind of liked how the ring looked there anyway. After a while, Syaoran finally spoke. He addressed the manager, "We'll get the other one."

Oh. Sakura turned to him. He didn't like it? "You didn't like it?" She returned her attention to the ring before taking it off and handing it carefully back to the manager.

"Yeah, no, it's beautiful, but..." He finished with a shrug, as if that explained everything.

Okaaay. Sakura just looked at him weirdly before waiting by the side as the purchase transaction was executed. Syaoran wouldn't be able to take the ring with him today since it wasn't the right size. He would pick it up once he returned from his trip.

"Let's go," Syaoran waved for her to follow him. "I'm starving."

Sakura glanced at her watch as they stepped out of the shop. "Okay, but we have to make this quick."

"Don't worry about it."

She raised a brow. She was just an employee, not a boss. Unlike him, she didn't exactly have the luxury of extended breaks. Before she could bring it up, he dismissed her again, telling her that he'd deal with it.

They walked inside the first restaurant they both mutually agreed upon. They could have been waiting for their orders by now if they didn't spend it arguing over the first four they passed by.

Even though Sakura asked that they make it quick, she still ordered a full meal. Might as well stuff herself so the rest of her body can catch up to her already fat fingers. Fat fingers. Pft. 'Seriously, who says stuffs like that?' Sakura forced herself not to glare at the man seated in front of her. Instead, she thought of happier things. "You're gonna propose soon!" She grinned widely. "Are you excited?"

Syaoran just shrugged, but it didn't dampen Sakura's spirit. She was used to his less than enthusiastic responses. She could show excitement for the both of them.

"Everything's almost ready. All you have to do is get the ring when you get back then get Tomoyo there. It's going to be perfect!"

* * *

AN: There you go. I'll try to post the next chapter next week. :) Don't forget to review! Please click below and review!


	9. Chapter 9

**Destined**

Author's Note: Less than a week! Can you believe that? I can't either. LOL. Once again, thank you for reading and reviewing last chapter. Truly appreciated. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

Chapter 9

* * *

Sakura hummed softly as she took the familiar route that would lead her back to her apartment. She wanted to feel the night air so she got off the cab early. She was just making a turn when she saw a familiar man walking slowly ahead of her.

"Hey Eriol!" She quickened her steps so she could catch up to him.

He stopped upon hearing his name. "Oh, hey, hi..." Eriol greeted her distractedly.

"I always pass here but I haven't seen you around before," Sakura started conversationally. "Or maybe I have, but I just didn't know you yet."

"Uh... sure, that's fine... it's great."

"Oh..." She bit her lip uncertainly.

Eriol seemed to notice. "I'm sorry." He sighed heavily. He didn't mean to be rude. "What was your question again?"

She didn't have a question before, but she did now. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just..." Eriol trailed off. He took off his glasses as he rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"Do you, um, do you want to go for a walk?" Sakura asked quietly. Walking always cleared her head. Maybe it would help him.

He placed his glasses back. "Sure."

They resumed their walk in silence. Sakura was busy contemplating whether Eriol wanted to be left alone with his thoughts or not. She was about to ask when he spoke again.

"I'm just worried about Tomoyo."

That caught Sakura's attention. "Why? Is something wrong? Is she okay?"

"She... she's just troubled over something about Syaoran," Eriol shared, remembering his conversation with her a few days ago. "She feels that he's not telling her something."

"Oh." Sakura breathed out a huge sigh of relief. She thought something bad had happened to Tomoyo. "Don't worry about it!" She then smiled brightly. And really, Eriol didn't have anything to worry about between Syaoran and Tomoyo right now. "Everything's gonna be okay."

Eriol paused, making Sakura do the same. "You think?"

"I know." She grinned happily, thinking of what was happening somewhere out there.

"Because I can't..." He removed his glasses once again. "If he did something..." He shut his eyes tightly, not knowing how to express his feelings. "I just... I just can't keep picking up the pieces."

Sakura watched as Eriol leaned, almost in defeat, against the red brick wall of an old book store. She glanced around them. The street wasn't as busy as it was during the day, but it wasn't empty nonetheless.

"It's going to be okay," Sakura softened as she assured him again. She didn't understand what he said, but she felt the need to comfort him. "Tomoyo's going to be fine." She urged him to smile as she declared proudly, "She's going to live happily ever after with Syaoran."

At the sharp intake of breath, Sakura instantly knew that she said something that she shouldn't have.

'Live happily...' Eriol clutched his glasses as he slumped there. It was a phrase that none of them used in that context. Though Tomoyo desperately wished for that, even she never said those words out loud. She was always conscious about her future with Syaoran. She was always thinking about it.

But... if someone else could believe it, then maybe it was possible. All he ever wanted was for Tomoyo to be happy, right? And if she could get that, then what more would he ask for?

Eriol took a shaky breath as the feelings in his chest tightened.

While he was lost in his thoughts, Sakura was coming to her own realization. As she gazed at Eriol's almost broken form, the underlying truth crashed into her. She almost took a step back at the force.

'How could, how could I...' Sakura's mind was all over the place at once. How could she miss this?! Now that she saw it, she realized that it was blatantly obvious. How Eriol's tone softened whenever he uttered Tomoyo's name... and God... that right there should have given her a clue! He always mentioned her name.

Tomoyo did this, Tomoyo didn't like that, Tomoyo said this, Tomoyo acted like that. Sakura figured it was normal since Tomoyo was a common friend, but as she searched her memory from their conversations, she became conscious of the fact that Tomoyo was always included. Even if they were talking about something different, she would always somehow be included.

She was always present in his thoughts.

And if that wasn't enough, she remembered how Eriol looked at Tomoyo. It was the same look Takashi had when it came to Chiharu. The same look that – Sakura would not admit this to anyone out loud – Kenji had for Naoko.

Sakura stood frozen. She couldn't believe she didn't see this one coming. It was glaring at her straight in face right from the beginning!

But as she thought more about it, she understood why.

She was so focused on the idea of Syaoran and Tomoyo together that she overlooked everything else. Her vision only consisted of those two that she neglected to see what Eriol was feeling.

"Do you love her?" The question was out even before Sakura could think of asking it.

A myriad of emotions passed in his eyes, but that was all she needed. Her hand flew to her mouth and this time, she really took a step back.

"Yes." What was the point of hiding it from her? Sakura already knew. "I'm in love with her."

The truth shall set you free?

Nah. It didn't do shit for Eriol. It was the first time he admitted that to anyone else. But did it change anything? Nope. Not one damn bit.

"I'm s-sorry..." Sakura's voice shook behind her hand. "I'm – I'm so sorry..." The conviction laced with softness in his declaration was enough to make her stumble. "I'm sorry." She could feel her eyes getting wet. Just looking at him made her ache. She couldn't even begin to imagine what he was really feeling.

"Don't." Eriol shook his head sadly. "You have nothing to apologize for."

'But I do!' Sakura wanted to shout. He didn't know it yet, but she was involved in something that would further hurt him. She might not have been aware of his feelings when she did what she did, but she still couldn't help but feel that she betrayed him now. He was going to be hurt... and she was responsible for it.

Because while Eriol was sagging in sorrow, Tomoyo was out there, jumping to her feet.

Tonight was the proposal.

And right on time, their phones beeped. Sakura watched as Eriol took out his to read the incoming message. By the heart-wrenching expression that crossed his face, Sakura didn't need to ask.

Tomoyo's message was simple, but the feeling it invoked was not. _Syaoran proposed!!!_

Sakura looked down at hers. It was from Syaoran. _Done._

And for the first time ever, she completely regretted having made that plan.

* * *

Tomoyo was bursting with happiness. She just couldn't take her eyes off the new ring that adorned her finger. She couldn't believe it! Last night was so surreal!

Gazing up at the man next to her, Tomoyo's smile widened. Syaoran was sitting beside her in a private spot in a restaurant while they waited for Eriol. She felt guilty that she was only able to share this wonderful news over the phone so she decided to rectify that. She called him earlier so they could meet up. She could finally tell him in person all about last night.

Last night.

Tomoyo sighed. Everything was so wonderful. She thought that Syaoran was just taking her on another date. All he told her was that he was meeting her there. That didn't bother her. She was already happy that she would be able to spend time with him.

When the chauffer led her to a private helicopter, she remembered feeling scared, panicked and excited all at the same time. When the ride was over and she stepped out on the sandy beach... god... the twinkling lights... the scattered petals... the soft music...

And then there was Syaoran.

He was standing there and waiting for her in dashing tux. It was just amazing. She was eating her favorite desert. She was enjoying the breeze and the bright, bright stars. And then it happened. He asked her to marry him. Next thing she knew, she was crying and nodding and hugging him. It was easily one of the best nights in her life.

"Sorry for being late."

Upon hearing Eriol's voice, Tomoyo's excitement doubled all over again. She glanced up, ready to greet him. Her smile, however, faltered when Eriol stepped behind and revealed Sakura behind him. She watched with confusion as he guided Sakura to the seat in front of her. One glance at Syaoran made it known that he wasn't expecting her to be here either.

Tomoyo bit the inside of her cheek. She wanted to share this news with just Eriol. Then again, Sakura was also her friend. Besides, Syaoran already told her the part Sakura played in all this. She felt guilty for doubting Sakura, even just for a second, before. 'Doesn't matter,' she decided. She was going to tell Sakura anyway. "Hey Eriol, hi Sakura!" She grinned again. She was much too happy right now.

"Um, hi." Sakura gave her a quick smile before darting her eyes away. She refused to look at them. She was such an open book that she was afraid that they would immediately know that something was up.

"I'm happy you guys are here!" Tomoyo beamed. "So..." She couldn't wait anymore. She could barely stay put in her seat so she just presented her hand. "It's gorgeous, isn't it?"

Sakura peeked at the diamond with sapphires ring that she tried on before. It really suited Tomoyo. "Yeah, it is." She looked down again.

Syaoran, on the other hand, was staring at her. He was confused about her presence here. He was pretty sure that they were only expecting Eriol. But aside from that, she was also acting strange. Shouldn't she be literally jumping for joy right now? He even expected that Sakura's excitement would rival that of Tomoyo's.

So... what was wrong? This was what Sakura wanted, right? Did he do something he wasn't supposed to? He was absolutely sure that he did everything they talked about.

"What do you think Eriol?"

"It's, uh, it's nice." He immediately stood up and excused himself to the bathroom.

Sakura cursed in her head. She was here for moral support to Eriol, but already, things were going downhill. She got to her feet, only to realize that Syaoran had done the same.

"You guys okay?"

She heard Tomoyo, but she was busy focusing on Syaoran. He was staring straight to where Eriol had disappeared. The tension she felt from that room in the church all those times ago suddenly returned.

'Don't.'

Syaoran's head whipped towards her as if he heard her. She couldn't read his expression, but she was sure as hell that hers was all written out there. She had no idea what her face was conveying anymore, but the blank mask she had been trying so hard to put on was gone.

She was starting to get anxious. 'Please, don't,' Sakura begged internally. She didn't know what to say or what to do. All she was sure about was this wasn't the proper time or place. Eriol was vulnerable right now, and she had no idea about what Syaoran was thinking. 'No.'

After a couple of agonizing seconds, Syaoran finally backed down. He lowered himself back on the chair, his eyes never leaving Sakura. She stood frozen, unable to escape his intense stare.

"Sakura?" Tomoyo's voice came again.

When Syaoran finally looked away, Sakura released a shaky breath. She wasn't even aware that she was holding it. "I'll, um... just go to the ladies' room." And then she fled.

Eriol didn't know how long he was standing at the hallway. He just became aware that he wasn't moving when there was a soft tap on his shoulder.

Sakura.

It was actually his idea to bring Sakura here today. She revealed to him what was going on after he received that message from Tomoyo. He could tell that guilt was eating her, but he didn't blame her for anything. In fact, he was grateful that Sakura felt the need to come clean. At least his moment of weakness came when there was only one person to witness it. At least he wouldn't be totally caught off guard in front of Tomoyo herself. At least he was prepared.

Or so he thought.

"I just..." Eriol started, talking more to himself. Why try to act tough? Sakura knew better. "I did this before, you know. I smiled, I congratulated her. Heck, I told her all the proper things. I just needed to do it again, but..." He trailed off.

Eriol knew why he couldn't do it again. It was the same reason why Tomoyo was a whole lot happier this time. It was because Syaoran made the effort. It didn't matter that Sakura started it all. Syaoran still did it.

All this time, he was comforted by the fact that he was the only one who would love Tomoyo the most. That was all Eriol had. And he foolishly thought that nothing could take that away from him... until now. Now, Syaoran was doing something he never did before. Eriol wasn't ready to let go of the only thing he was holding onto.

Sakura silently stood next to him as she gave him a couple of minutes. Regretfully, she needed to remind him, "We've been gone too long..."

Eriol physically shook his head to clear his mind. "Yeah, you're right. Go ahead. I'll follow."

She nodded and went back to their private table. Sakura made sure to keep her head down until the last possible moment. When she looked up, she was surprised that it was only Tomoyo there.

"Um, where's Li?"

"Syaoran needed to get back to his office." She frowned, but it was quickly wiped away. She was only thinking of nice things right now.

"I see." Sakura busied herself with the menu.

Tomoyo was talking again when Eriol returned. "By the way Sakura, thank you for what you did for me." She shot the other girl a really grateful smile.

"Oh, um, it was nothing."

"It was not nothing. That was really sweet of you. You –"

"Hey Eriol," Sakura felt bad for interrupting Tomoyo but she knew that Tomoyo was about to launch on the details. If there was a way for her to prevent, or at least prolong, this torture from happening to Eriol, then she would take it. "You said you had to pick up something from the post office. It must be there right now."

Eriol caught on. "Yeah, yeah. It's really important. I have to go now. I'm sorry, Tomoyo." He stood up quickly. Before walking out, he looked over his shoulder and mouthed his thanks to Sakura.

Tomoyo looked a little dejected after Eriol's abrupt leave. He looked like he really wanted to leave, and that never happened before. Ever.

If only Sakura didn't remind him of that important thing he had to do...

"So you had fun last night?" Sakura asked the thing she knew that would lift Tomoyo's spirit back up again.

It worked. Tomoyo smiled brilliantly again. "I did! Thank you so much. And before you say it's nothing again, I want to ask you something."

"Um, sure..."

"I really appreciate what you did. And even if you didn't do that, I still appreciate all those other times you spent with me. And I will really appreciate it, and will really, really be happy if you could be my maid of honor."

Sakura bit her lip. She wasn't expecting that. "W-what about your previous one?"

"She's a distant cousin of mine. And she lives abroad," Tomoyo waved off her concern. "I'm sure she'll understand."

"I don't think Li would like that." Sakura grasped in the fact that she was that desperate for an excuse the moment she brought up Syaoran.

"Nonsense."

"Well, I, um..."

"And besides, Eriol is still the best man. You guys get along so well. It'll be perfect."

"Um, uh..." Not only did Sakura really think that Syaoran wouldn't like that idea, but she was also hesitant to accept because of Eriol. She was sure Eriol would understand, but still...

"Please."

Sakura made the mistake of looking up. Tomoyo was staring at her eagerly and hopefully, and Sakura couldn't find it in herself to turn her down. She sighed resignedly. "Okay."

* * *

Sakura stared at the fourteen strips of fabric neatly laid in front of her. They were of varying shades, but they were all green to her. Now she could understand why Syaoran wasn't exactly dying to get his hands on the wedding preparation. And well... she also had an idea from where his reluctance came from.

Removing her eyes from the cursed materials, she focused her attention to the man seated in front of her. Syaoran didn't acknowledge her when he arrived at Tomoyo's work room. He just took one glance at the fabrics, shook his head, took a seat and opened a folder. Sakura almost snorted at that. He actually came prepared. He brought work with him.

She sighed for the nth time as she returned to the task at hand – her dress color. Her first choice, Tomoyo made a comment about it being too dark. With her second choice, Tomoyo said that it didn't match her skin tone. Sakura just stared blankly at that. She didn't want to appear unsupportive or that she didn't care enough, but really, she couldn't help with this one. She just discovered that fashion wasn't one of her strongest sense.

Sakura quickly located Tomoyo from across the room. The other woman was busy with her sketches. She was about to call Tomoyo's attention when two assistants, who she saw earlier, entered.

"Oh good. You're here," Tomoyo's voice echoed softly. "Sakura, can you come over here for a sec?"

Sakura was more than happy to obey. She was asked to stay still so they could take her measurements. She was relieved that they were just murmuring the numbers. She was actually on the petite and slim side, but she didn't want to give any more ammunition to Syaoran.

In the middle of it all, Tomoyo excused herself out of the room to receive a call. When the assistants were done, they followed suit. That left only the two of them.

Sakura didn't move from her position. She couldn't return. Aside from the fabrics taunting her, Syaoran was also there. But at the same time, she couldn't not go back. They hadn't exchanged a word about what was going on and it was killing her. When was she known to stay out? And besides, she was already far too involved in this. She couldn't just leave it.

With tentative steps, Sakura found herself back in her seat. She fidgeted, not knowing how to start. "Li..." She whispered. He made no indication that he heard so she tried again. "Hey Li..." Louder this time, "Li!" Sakura frowned. "Oi!"

"What the fuck?" Syaoran recoiled when a rolled up magazine hit his leg. He growled, "What?"

Now that she had his attention, she was nervous again. "Uh, I think... um, well, we need to discuss..." She bit her lip. Syaoran wasn't making it easy by continuously scowling at her. "You know... about..." She made movements with her hands, but they weren't really expressing anything. She just didn't know what to do with them.

Sakura realized that she didn't know what Syaoran knew. But she knew that Syaoran knew she knew something. She just didn't know if Syaoran knew exactly what she knew.

'Damn it! That was so confusing!' If it was that hard to make sense in her head, how would she even put it to words? Steadying herself, she started in a determined voice, "We need to talk."

Syaoran snorted. "What? Are we breaking up now?"

She instantly glared at him. He wasn't taking her seriously. Well, if that was how he was going to play, then she would just put it out there. "About Eriol."

"That's none of your business. We're not –"

"We are!" Sakura quickly stopped and glanced at the door. After she was sure that no one was coming, she repeated in a lower voice. "We are talking about this. We just can't – I mean, it's not right to – we can't pretend, we have to, ugh!" She brought her hand up in her hair in frustration. Then she got more frustrated when she realized that she was taking on his habit.

Syaoran seemed unaware of that as he stared her down. "Talk? Then talk. Tell me, what good would that do?"

"I... I don't..." She honestly didn't know.

"Tell me." Syaoran leaned forward, making Sakura back away even though they were a few feet apart and a center table was between them. "What would that accomplish?"

"Things can get straightened out," Sakura rushed. "You guys can let it all out there and –"

"Would that stop Eriol from loving Tomoyo?"

Sakura gasped. 'He knew!' It instantaneously felt like she had a lot of things to say, but nothing would come out.

"Or would that stop Eriol from hurting because Tomoyo doesn't return his feelings?"

"N-no, but –"

"Or would that suddenly make Tomoyo love him?"

"No..."

"Or would that just hurt Tomoyo because I –" Syaoran stopped abruptly. He gave her a fierce look. "You're asking for too much."

Sakura opened her mouth to protest. She wanted to tell him that it wasn't the case, but the words were stuck. She realized that there was some truth to his statement. It would put a strain into their already fragile relationships. 'But still...' She clenched her fist. This wasn't right to her. She had to do something... anything! She just couldn't let it go. That was impossible for her to do. "Maybe..." Sakura started again, albeit unsurely. "Maybe you could participate more in this." She waved around them.

In her head, she justified that it would greatly please Tomoyo, and if she was that, then maybe Eriol would have an easier time accepting. Sakura frowned once more. She didn't like that Eriol became some sort of casualty – that he didn't get what he desired and deserved. She felt so bad for him.

The two of them remained silent until Tomoyo came back. Sakura noticed right away that her friend looked stressed.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah. I just got a call." Tomoyo sat next to her, none the wiser about Sakura and Syaoran's earlier conversation. "It was from my contact from Paris. They told me they were interested in carrying out my line."

Sakura's brow knitted together. "That's good news, right?"

"Yes. Absolutely. But..." Tomoyo took a deep breath. "They want me on the plane by tomorrow and I don't know how long I'll be there." She was completely torn. She had been waiting for this opportunity. She really wanted it. But she also didn't want to leave her wedding preparations behind. She had been waiting longer for this. She made the mistake of handing everything over to the coordinators before. She wasn't about to do it again.

"Maybe I could help," Sakura offered timidly. She saw the distress all over Tomoyo and she wanted to help ease that. "Maybe you could still go, and you can direct me here on what you want or need."

"Are you sure?" Tomoyo was seriously considering it. Things would be so much better if Sakura was going to do that. They could get in touch without difficulty and she could easily get updates. Besides, Sakura's sincere efforts were bound to deliver better results than those overpaid commercialized coordinators.

"Of course, Tomoyo," Sakura assured. "We can develop a system. Like, you can call me whenever you need me to do something, and I'll get back to you with news. And we already planned to exchange opinions anyway, so this'll work too."

"Oh thank you so much!" Tomoyo threw her arms to hug the other girl. "This means so much to me. Thank you, thank you!"

Sakura gave a little laugh. "It's no problem."

"And if you have problems..." Tomoyo gave a tentative glance at Syaoran.

"He'll help," Sakura hurriedly interrupted. "Right?" She turned to him and heard the hopelessness in her own voice. She must have looked pleading, too. "Or, um..." She started to backtrack when he didn't reply right away. "But if he's busy, I can always just –"

"Fine. Whatever."

Sakura faced him at once. If she wasn't so focused on hearing anything from him, she would have missed it. He was back to being engrossed in his file. 'Oh, thank God.' She actually let out a sigh of relief, thinking that Syaoran was following what she asked for earlier. She would think about the torture of spending more time with him later.

"Thank you!" Tomoyo beamed excitedly. "I'm going to call them now. Thank you." She shot them a truly appreciative look. "Oh wait Sakura, have you decided on the color yet?"

Sakura suppressed a groan. Right. Dress color. How would she help Tomoyo if she couldn't even decide this thing?

"I have to go." Syaoran stood up, glancing at his watch.

"Oh, okay," Tomoyo said. "I'll see you tomorrow before I leave?"

"Yeah." Not even sparing a glance at Sakura's direction, he passed her on his way to the door. "Third from the right."

"Huh?" Sakura blinked, trying to process his statement. She was about to ask him what he meant, but he was already gone. So was Tomoyo. "Great," she muttered under her breath. Now that left with the freaking strips of fabric. Forcing herself to look at them, she noticed... third from the right. Huh... the fabric was on the lighter shade of green, but it was vibrant nonetheless. It would catch your attention, but not enough to hurt the eyes. A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

AN: Half of this chapter is also a re-write. The original one contained the actual proposal, but well... I like Syaoran, I like Tomoyo... but not really a fan of them together. I couldn't write it twice, so I just decided to summarize it in Tomoyo's memory. Hope that's okay.

Next chapter will be SxS. I'll post it up soon. :) I have to say though, don't get used to fast updates. I might disappear again. Kidding! Don't forget to review!


	10. Chapter 10

****

Destined

Author's Note: Yes, I updated again. Your eyes are not playing tricks on you. LOL. Thank you, thank you everyone. Loved the reviews, always.

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

Chapter 10

* * *

Sakura wanted to get to know Syaoran better. If they were going to spend more time together, then it was in her best interest to keep the atmosphere between them from being too hostile. With that, she pushed the thoughts of Tomoyo and Eriol away and focused on him.

Syaoran, on the other hand, was caught off guard at the noticeable change. They didn't part on friendly terms the last time. Then again, when they had ever? Still, he was surprised when Sakura started asking him questions – about his life, his childhood, his friends, his work, etcetera, etcetera. He liked being private and he was used to it. People give him space and that equated to them respecting his wishes. Sakura, obviously, was not one of them.

She was relentless and she kept asking and asking until she was satisfied. It was annoying at first and a bit too intrusive in his opinion, but on the third day, he was already giving in. It didn't hurt that Sakura was actually sincere. He was accustomed to people asking him questions just for the sake of polite conversation, but it was totally different with her. She wasn't afraid to tell what was on her mind and she readily argued with him when it came to his preference in music or his favorite movies or books or just whatever.

It was... unusual, to say the least. Time with Sakura, when she wasn't forcing him to do something, was just different. He could relax because he didn't have to worry about saying anything wrong that could hurt her. At the beginning, Syaoran figured that he didn't need to be careful since he didn't need to genuinely like her. But as he already discovered, she could just dish right back. It was a breath of fresh air, to be honest. He didn't have to think about his moves around her. Sakura didn't have expectations from him... emotionally. He could just... be.

"Here you go." Sakura dropped the paper bag on his lap after getting in the passenger seat of his car.

Syaoran frowned. "What's this?" He opened it and saw books inside. He counted six.

"You can return them to me when you're done," Sakura stated as if they had really talked about him borrowing her books.

He scanned the titles and recognized nothing. Apparently, his taste in books sucked so it became her mission to remedy that and educate him. Shrugging, he placed the bag on the backseat. No point returning it now. "We'll drop by my place first," Syaoran informed, already back on the road. "I forgot the seating chart there."

"Sure." She nodded as she dug through her bag. A moment later she produced a pack of M&Ms.

"No eating."

"What?"

"Not inside the car."

"B-but," Sakura spluttered, "I'm not gonna make a mess." She should have known that he would be stingy when it came to his car. "But you like chocolates, right?" She tried urging.

Didn't matter.

"But they're chocolate candies," Sakura continued her protest, almost whiny. "It's not going to be messy."

"No."

"But..." She stared longingly at the bag of M&Ms in her hand. She refused to put it back. Sakura decided that she was just going to stare at it until they arrived. It was the next best thing.

After a minute, Syaoran let out an aggravated sigh. He grunted, "Oh, fine, fine."

"What?" Sakura tried to make sense of his words. A bright smile instantly lit her face when she realized that he was giving her the go-signal.

"But one piece falls and you're keeping it away."

"Of course!" Sakura eagerly agreed. She almost tore it open, but she remembered his warning.

Syaoran shook his head at her. She actually bounced in her seat. Childish.

The ride continued with no more incidents. Syaoran was tapping his finger against the steering wheel when he noticed Sakura on the corner of his eyes. She was constantly shaking the pack of candies before taking one out. "What are you doing?"

"I'm eating all the red ones first."

Syaoran looked at her to gauge if she was serious. She was. "Why?" He asked incredulously.

"Because I want to." She shrugged casually before shaking it again.

His brows furrowed. He couldn't believe that he was going to continue this line of conversation, but damn, it was just too weird that he couldn't let go. "What happens if you don't eat all the red ones?"

"It won't happen. I always make sure of it." She suddenly sat up. "Oh, no! Where are my manners? I forgot to offer you!"

Before Syaoran could react, Sakura was already taking one of his hands away from the wheel. Since they were driving straight in an automatic car, he really didn't need both. Still, he wanted his hand back. He was about to pull, but she was already pouring candies to his palm. She didn't let go right away. Instead, Sakura began picking out the red ones from his hand.

"This is so much easier," Sakura commented after popping the last red from his hand.

Syaoran just stared for a moment. Then he blinked twice.

God, she was so freaking weird.

And fucking adorable.

He pursed his lips before deciding to hell with it. The moment his hand was empty, Sakura poured another batch. She picked out all the red again. The third time, no red M&Ms fell on his hand. There was none inside the bag too so Sakura started eating normally.

They finished just as Syaoran was driving up to the building where he lived. It was right on time too since they needed water.

Sakura went out of the car and followed Syaoran. She threw the empty packet on a trash bin outside while he handed the keys to a valet. With a start, Sakura realized that it was her first time coming here. They usually meet downtown.

She smiled at the doorman politely before taking in the marbled lobby and the crystal chandelier. There was a lounge on the side but she wasn't able to see much because they were stepping inside the elevator.

Sakura trailed after him until they entered the door leading to his penthouse. The first thing she noticed was his floor to ceiling windows. Two sides were completely covered in glass. "Oh, wow." Her feet were already moving towards it even before she could comprehend her action. "Wow..." Sakura repeated, gazing at the busy street down below.

"Make yourself comfortable." It was hard to miss the sarcasm in Syaoran's voice as he went further inside, but Sakura ignored him. She took her time admiring the view. How high up were they? She wasn't paying attention to the number earlier.

Finally, she managed to pull her eyes away to glance around. She instantly spotted the off-white chaise lounge near her. It quickly became her favorite piece of furniture. She could just imagine herself curling there with a book. Resisting the urge, she surveyed the rest of the room.

Syaoran's place had more of a dark neutral color scheme. The walls were grayish-black and were decorated with various abstract art pieces. There was a modern L-shaped sofa in black leather, a recliner, and a low coffee table in front of a huge flat screen TV. Shelves of CDs were also nearby. On the corner was a mini bar. There was a tall rack full of wine and a fridge probably filled with beers and other alcoholic beverages. Speaking of drinks...

Sakura tried to follow the noise she heard earlier. She passed three doors until she reached the entryway to his dining room. It held more earth tones, but like his living room, the area was also spacious.

"Li?"

"Over here."

She walked towards his kitchen and ran her hand over his granite countertop. Her eyes took in the stainless steel appliances and oak cabinets before sitting on one of the bar stools. His kitchen was beautiful and looked meticulously clean. "Thanks," Sakura murmured as she accepted the glass of water. She titled her head. "Do you cook?"

Syaoran's automatic response would have been 'sometimes', but he knew that one word answers wouldn't be good enough for her. "I know the basics. I can make breakfast for myself if I feel like it." He took their empty glasses back to the sink. "I'm always out for lunch and usually dinners, but if not, I have someone else who cooks for me. The help is on call." He added the last part when Sakura started searching.

"Ah."

"Do you cook?"

"I love to cook!" Sakura exclaimed. She was actually restraining herself from getting too excited over his things. He might ban her. "Hey, since we're already here, how about we stay in? I'll cook!" She grinned widely.

Syaoran merely looked skeptical.

"I can!"

"Didn't say you can't." He raised his hands in mock surrender. "Anyway, I don't know what's available. I don't do groceries."

"It's fine. I'm sure I can come up with something." She hopped from the stool and went straight to his double door refrigerator. "Looks like your groceries just arrived," Sakura commented as she inspected the content. When she noticed another ref by the corner, she went to open it curiously. A gasp flew out from her mouth. "Oh my god." She pointed in front of her. "You – you..."

Syaoran scrunched his face. "What?"

"You have –" She waved her hand in an up and down motion. "– lots of chocolates!" The entire fridge was solely dedicated to chocolates. Various kinds, mostly imported, filled the inside. "I know you liked them, but damn..."

He shrugged nonchalantly. "So?"

Sakura was still in disbelief. "You eat all these?" He just shrugged again. She gave him a quick once over. "How do you stay so – never mind." She hastily shut her mouth along with the refrigerator door. "So..." She huffed, quickly changing the topic. "How do you feel about sea foods?"

* * *

Sakura was startled to awareness when her head drooped down again. 'Wha...?' She blinked blearily. The screen in front of her was rolling some ending credits. Huh? Trying to stay awake, she tried to remember where she was. The windows easily reminded her. Oh right. At Syaoran's.

She sat upright while her eyes adjusted to the dim lights. She spotted Syaoran lying perpendicular to her. He was fast asleep on the longer side of the couch with his socked feet right next to her hip.

'Almost midnight,' Sakura learned upon glancing at his wall clock. After stuffing themselves, they went to debate as to who would do the seating chart. Syaoran had absolutely no interest and he wasn't about to change his mind. Sakura learned that his intent was just to get it and to give it to her. She then reasoned that she couldn't do it on her own because she wasn't familiar with those people. How was she supposed to know who should be seated together? Or who should be tables away from each other?

They argued back and forth while the chart – the reason they met up that day – lay untouched on the end table. It all ended with them ignoring each other. Syaoran opened his laptop while Sakura took a book and acted out her imagination on the chaise lounge. It was an hour later when they decided to catch a movie. Sakura couldn't remember who brought it up. And now, here they were, passed out on the couch.

"Li..." Sakura tapped his leg while trying to stand up. "Am goin home." Her words were slightly slurred due to drowsiness but she got the message across.

Syaoran shifted before sitting up. He ran a hand through his hair before rubbing his face. "I'll take you. Just a sec." He then disappeared to one of the doors Sakura saw earlier.

On any other time, Sakura would have rejected his offer. But damn, she was tired as hell right now. She could barely even stand on her own two feet.

Syaoran re-emerged looking a lot more awake than she felt. Sakura grabbed her bag and stumbled after him. She remembered mumbling directions after buckling inside his car. It felt like only a few seconds had passed when there was a tap on her arm.

"We're here." He pulled up outside a modest apartment complex.

"Mmhm."

"Kitten..." Syaoran tried waking her up, but Sakura merely sunk further in her seat. "Oi kitten."

She said something under her breath but made no movements. Syaoran removed his seat belt before going out of the car. He opened Sakura's door and crouched down to her level.

"Kitten, you're home."

"... not... kitten..." Sakura grumbled sleepily. She still hadn't move.

Syaoran stood up and leaned against the open door. "You know, I would carry you inside, but you looked kinda heavy. And with how you ate earlier..." He trailed off purposefully as he waited for her reaction. Sakura didn't disappoint as she met him with a glare. Well... she tried to glare, but her eyes wouldn't open properly.

"Ugh, fine." To avoid tripping, Sakura exerted extra efforts in standing up... only to be stopped harshly by her seat belt. "Ow fuck."

Syaoran's lips curled up in amusement. He simply watched as Sakura fumbled to release herself. Helping her might have been the right thing to do, but he was too entertained to stop the show. "Finally," he taunted when Sakura stood up. "You were taking forever – ouch!" He rubbed his stomach. Sakura might be out of it, but she still could pack a punch.

Damn, she was still fierce.

"Good night. Good bye." Sakura waved... or at least she thought she did. Her mind was already imagining her own bed. And her pillows... Mmm.

Syaoran lingered outside. He recalled Sakura telling him earlier that her apartment was 3C. Third floor. When he heard no sound of a falling body from a flight of stairs, he entered his car and drove home. A few minutes later, Syaoran was yawning as he shut off the engine. A bag on the car floor caught his attention – Sakura's bag.

"Oh man..." He took his phone out from his pocket with the intention of leaving Sakura a message and informing her about her forgotten bag. He scrolled to 'K' – of course it was for Kitten, not Kinomoto Sakura – and pressed the call button, only to have some song echo inside his car. Right, of course, her phone would be in her bag.

With a frown, Syaoran picked up the bag. He saw Sakura's phone peeking out from the pocket and it showed one missed call from _Li Syaoran_. An idea formed in his mind. Well... this could be considered as his revenge for that punch.

He wasted no time and browsed through her contacts. He found his name and changed it to _Gorgeous_. It might have been vain for him to do so, but he knew Sakura would get it. It would remind her of her little slip up from way before. He totally caught her and figured that shit out.

* * *

Sakura was in a frenzy as she rushed around in her apartment. She was going to be sooo late! Thank God Naoko woke her when she did. Why, oh why, didn't her alarm go off? And of all days, why today? She would deliver a presentation this morning!

"Phone, phone, phone..." She chanted under her breath as she searched her room for the gadget that should have been responsible for waking her up. "Where is it?" She couldn't ask Naoko to ring it for her. Her friend left just a couple of minutes ago. She was waiting but Sakura insisted that she go on ahead. No sense trying to drag another to be late with her. "Ah forget it!" She would just have to leave without it. Sakura went to her desk to grab her bag, however, her hand met with thin air. "What the..." She looked back. Her bag wasn't there. "Oh, no!" A groan escaped her mouth. She always, always put her bag there. She could understand if she misplaced her phone. Maybe her wallet, too. But the entire bag...?!

Sakura ran out and rummaged around the apartment. Not on the couch. Not in the kitchen. She even checked Naoko's room! Her internal panic was interrupted by a knock on the door. Thinking that it was her roommate, she threw the door open.

Syaoran stood there and took in Sakura's stressed look. He raised a brow at her outfit. Instead of her usual blouse and slacks, Sakura was in a sleeveless, dark pink ruffled top with a slim fitting pencil skirt. She even had light make-up on. Syaoran opened his mouth to tease her about playing dress-up, but the impatience mixed with anxiety on her face made him stop. "Uh... your bag?" He said instead and held it out. "You left it in the car last night."

"Oh thank God!" The speed at which her facial expression switched was comical. "Oh my God, thank you!" She snatched it away and clasped it tightly with both hands as she breathed out in relief. "Thank you!" Her bag was here. Her phone was here. Her flash drive, which stored her report, was here! "Thank God! I could kiss you right now!"

He smirked. "Yeah... I don't think that's a good idea."

"Oh shut up!" Sakura grumbled. "You know I didn't it mean it that way." Her relief flew out the window when she realized, yet again, that she was going to be late. She ran back and disappeared inside.

Syaoran stood at the doorway. "I'll drop you off."

"No need!" She called from her room. Sakura slid on her black peep toe pumps – damn, she hated high heels – while holding her bag and balancing the folders she swiped from her desk. She stumbled out in that position while still trying to slip the other shoe on.

"We're going the same direction, anyway."

She paused to consider this. Every time she was running late, she would usually bring her car. But her car was in the shop right now. Riding a cab would take longer. "Okay, okay." She gave in and followed him out.

Syaoran rolled his eyes and took the folders, which were hanging precariously on her arms, while she struggled to lock her door.

"Thanks," Sakura muttered. She soon found herself back in his car again. Deep calming breaths were the first thing she did when she was finally settled. Her morning was such a rush. She didn't even have the time to grab something to eat. Just as she thought this, she saw Syaoran sipping from a Starbucks cup. She didn't even notice it earlier.

"Oh..." Syaoran paused when he saw her eyes. "I didn't think to get you one." Because he wasn't really planning on giving her a ride when he delivered the bag back. It just came out when she started unconsciously chanting about being late.

"It's okay." She waved it off before admitting, "I can't finish a cup by myself anyway."

"Okay." He nodded. Then as an afterthought, he offered, "Want to share?" He had no more qualms regarding this because they already shared the most sacred food for him.

Sakura stared at the cup of coffee he extended in front of her face. Hell why not? "Alright." The ride was spent with them passing the cup to each other. She also went to tell him about her presentation, thus the reason for her change in style. It was because he couldn't keep his mouth shut – he must have gotten it from her – and still brought up 'playing dress-up'.

All too soon, Syaoran pulled up in front of her building and they made plans to meet up again after work. Sakura murmured another thanks and got out. She almost went back to panicking when she realized the time.

Syaoran watched as she faltered in her steps. Before getting inside the building, she almost tripped again. Sakura was apparently uncomfortable in her heels.

Fuck, she was so awkward.

And still freaking adorable.

* * *

"Hey Tomoyo," Sakura greeted over the phone. "Did you see the pictures I sent you?"

"Yeah, the flower arrangements were lovely," Tomoyo gushed. "Thank you."

"No big. So have you chosen yet? Or should I go check for a third florist?"

"Oh, no need." Tomoyo paused for a moment. "I liked the last one you sent me. I think it would look great for a table centerpiece. What did Syaoran say?"

"He just doesn't want anything too big."

"It doesn't seem to be big, does it? How about you? Did you like anything?"

The two women started exchanging opinions. Sakura then asked how she was doing abroad and Tomoyo was happy to share the details. After a few minutes, they hung up.

"Sorry about that." Sakura smiled apologetically as she returned to their lunch table.

"It's okay. Our food just arrived," Chiharu stated.

Sakura took the only open seat, which was right next to Yukito. She would think that her friend set it up, but she already knew that it wasn't the case. After seeing Syaoran, Chiharu got it in her head that they looked better together. Sakura explained it over and over again, but the other girl wouldn't listen. Well... at least it got Chiharu off her back with the Yukito thing. Now, she could talk more freely to guy and she was pleased to find out that Chiharu was right, Yukito was nice.

Yukito was the perfect gentleman. He was polite and respectful. Humble and soft-spoken. Kind and sensitive. Basically, all the things Li Syaoran was not.

But Syaoran and she had their own unique rapport. They still argue like there was no tomorrow, but it was different now. Sorta. He was actually decent to be with once she stopped nagging him about the preparations. When she stopped worrying about everything and anyone else, she realized that she was having fun with him.

Fun.

He might have been intentionally responsible for that. Since he really couldn't force himself to be involved with the planning, he tried looking for ways to distract her. Unfortunately for Sakura, she was easily distracted. Whether it was another debate or a plate of food, she was lured without much problem. Syaoran was one manipulative ass, alright.

* * *

Sakura lowered herself into the dark coffee table while keeping her eyes on Syaoran, who was perched on the sofa in front of her. They were at his place again.

"Are you seriously going to continue that charade?"

He barely looked up from his laptop. "What are you talking about?"

She tapped her bare foot on the floor. Her awful shoes were somewhere out there. Maybe by the door... maybe in the kitchen... she couldn't remember where she took it off. Sakura growled a warning, "Li!"

"What?"

Sakura couldn't believe he had the audacity to sound annoyed. She scooted forward until their faces were just inches away from each other. Slowly, she brought a hand up and flicked him on the forehead.

He flinched right away. "What the hell was that for?" Syaoran rubbed his forehead.

"What the hell was that –" She leaned back to point an accusing finger at him. "You're a liar!"

"What?" He swatted her hand away. "What are you –"

"I went to the kitchen, Li! And on my way back, I saw what you were doing. You told me it was work, but I saw – you were playing solitaire!"

Syaoran didn't even look the least bit ashamed for being caught.

"I've been waiting here for more than an hour! Did you even 'work' at all?" She made sure to do air-quote.

"Yeah." He placed his laptop away while muttering, "For the first ten minutes." Damn he was bored. He even played freaking solitaire to pass time. He needed to appear busy or Sakura would make him do the freaking seating charts. "Ow!" He glared when he received another flick.

"That was for making me wait for nothing!" She growled even before he could ask.

"Then what was the other one for?"

"For lying. Don't you listen?" And because Sakura wanted to be vindictive, and the look on his face was just priceless, she flicked him again. Too bad for her Syaoran wasn't going to let that one go. The look in his eyes was more than enough to send her backing away. "No, no..."

"Let's see how you like it."

"No, wait – stop!" Sakura continued sliding back while Syaoran hovered over the table she was sitting at. He raised his hand and she objected at once. "No, don't! You have huge hands! You can squash my whole face without meaning to!"

"I'll be gentle." The evil smile on his face told a different story.

Sakura cursed inwardly. She was already on the edge with her legs stretched in front of her. Maybe she could lift her feet and kick him in the chest. Their eyes met at that thought.

"Oh no, you don't!" Syaoran quickly seized her below the knees just as she was raising her feet to hit him. He used that hold to pull Sakura closer to him, but her struggle made her fall from the table. Thank goodness it was only a foot tall.

The next thing she knew they were rolling on the floor. She tried to get the upper hand, but it was kind of hard to do so with her skirt. Damn it! She settled for one hand protecting her face while the other trashed about, trying to hit him. She might have used her legs too.

"Stop, stop! Jesus!" Syaoran was left trying to restrain her. His back suddenly hit cool glass.

Sakura dropped the hand from her face when she noticed that they stopped moving. He was above her with her other wrist in his hand and her legs trapped between his. She looked to the side and realized that they reached his windows. They stared at each other. They rolled that far...?

"I'm going to let you go." Syaoran added a silent warning if she tried to do anything. She just nodded. His weight was crushing her. With an exhale, he rolled away from her.

Sakura started catching her breath as she stared at the ceiling. "You're going to have to do it eventually, you know?"

"I'm hungry," Syaoran announced randomly. "Cook for me?"

She turned her head to the side and narrowed her eyes at him.

He just sat up and met her stare. Syaoran smiled innocently. "We can eat chocolates while you cook."

Damn it.

He was suggesting something else so she would back off. Sakura knew it. He was baiting her with the things she wanted.

It was a trap. She knew!

But god damn, she was still going to fall for it.

"I hate you."

* * *

AN: They're just starting to warm up to each other. Let's see how it goes. I'll try to put up another chapter next week. Review!!


	11. Chapter 11

**Destined**

Author's Note: Thank you once again for reading and reviewing! Really glad to see some of you back. :) Here goes the next chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

Chapter 11

* * *

"Are you freaking serious?" Syaoran started choking on his drink.

"It was a blank CD, it totally looked the same!" Sakura tried to glare at Syaoran's laughing form, but a grin was also forming on her face. "So I played the CD in front of my entire class thinking that it contained my power point presentation, but then... boom! It was porn from my brother's collection."

He was absolutely cracking up now. Other customers of the restaurant were glancing at their booth, but Syaoran remained oblivious. "Oh fuck, that was priceless!"

"It was humiliating!" Sakura stressed. "Not to mention totally disgusting!" She visibly shivered. Thank goodness they were done eating. "I mean I shouldn't be even thinking about my brother... and porn... at the same time! And I just used them it a sentence – twice!"

"Shit!" Syaoran was still laughing. "Okay that was worse than my friend catching me receiving hea –" He stopped abruptly and silence took residence at their table. "Uh... yeah, too much information." He coughed awkwardly. "Sorry. Got carried away."

Sakura was blushing from her roots as they avoided each other's eye. "So was that before or after you walked around campus with your fly open?"

His mouth dropped in shock before he started laughing again. "No, that was a completely different time!"

Sakura laughed with him, but inside she was dying. She couldn't believe she said that! She just wanted to alleviate the situation. Joking about it seemed like a good idea, and it was, but she still didn't expect those words to actually come out. What was happening to her? Though she was usually loud and opinionated, she never talked about these things so casually. She was quite shy when it came to these topics. But with Syaoran, he just made it so damn easy to be... playful.

And to think this all started innocently enough. She tripped on their way to the table and in an attempt to dismiss it, she told him it was nothing and that she experienced worse. Next thing they knew, they were sharing their most embarrassing moments as their competitive nature tried to top each other.

"What kind friends did I have?" Syaoran continued in jest. "Letting me walk around and laughing behind my back all damn day. Bunch of assholes!"

"Well, birds of the same feather..." Sakura quipped.

"Ha-ha." He gave her a sarcastic look before standing. "Come on. Let's go." They went out of the restaurant and went straight to the parking lot.

"Uh, Li..." Sakura paused before reaching the car. If she was enjoying her new-found mischievousness, why stop it? "Your zipper is open." She prepared the cocky smile that she would flash when he realized that she was just fooling him.

However, she was disappointed when he didn't look down. And to her utter mortification, Syaoran just raised a brow before asking bluntly, "Why were you looking at my crotch?"

Sakura turned beet red and her hands immediately flew to cover her face. "Oh my god!" She moaned in embarrassment. He totally caught on to what she was doing and he threw it back to her.

Lesson learned. Don't fuck with a motherfucker.

She peeked behind her fingers and saw that he was sporting the smirk she wanted to give. "Oh, god..." She still had a long way to go.

Fortunately, Syaoran decided to take pity on her and he dropped the subject. "Have you called the real estate agent?"

She took time composing herself. "Yeah, actually, I did." Sakura was looking for a new apartment. She figured that it was unfair to Naoko to continue paying her part of the rent when she was rarely there. Besides, Kenji already asked her to move in with him. But Naoko, being the good friend, was hesitating because she didn't want to leave Sakura behind.

It wasn't as if Sakura couldn't afford paying for the place on her own. She could, but she found it impractical. And she also didn't want to live somewhere bigger than she needed. One more thing Syaoran and she didn't have in common, since obviously, he preferred spacious arrangements.

"I'm supposed to meet with the agent and see the places next week," Sakura recalled the details of her conversation.

"Want to do it now?"

"Now?" She asked, surprised.

"Sure. Why not?" Syaoran's motive of distracting Sakura was no longer a secret between them. However, only ten minutes into it, both would forget why he was trying to divert her attention in the first place. The rest of the day would just progress naturally.

"I suppose..." Sakura paused to consider. The earlier the better because the lease would be up soon. "But she may not be available right now. Hold on. Let me give her a call."

Syaoran leaned against the side of his car while Sakura stood a few feet away from him.

"Hello, this is Kinomoto Sakura. I called your office the other day... Oh no, there's no problem... I was just wondering if we could reschedule our appointment... Um, today? Are you free? ... Oh, I see... Well, it's okay, I under –" Sakura cut herself when he saw Syaoran extending his hand towards her. 'What?' She mouthed. He rolled his eyes and took the phone away from her. "Hey! I wasn't done –"

He ignored her. He took a glance at the name before bringing her phone to his ear. "Hello, Miss Yu, we're sorry for the sudden request to reschedule but we're afraid we're going to have to take our business somewhere else."

Sakura's jaw dropped open. "What? No!" She tried to wrestle the phone back, but he simply smacked her hand away. "What are you doing?" She hissed and made another attempt to get it.

Syaoran grabbed Sakura's outstretched arm and used it to spin her around so she would be facing away from him. The maneuver was also effective in trapping Sakura's other arm between their bodies. She turned her head to glare at him as he crushed her to his side and rendered her unable to attack. "We're going to busy the next few days a-and –"

"Let me go! Give that back!"

He readjusted his hold and tightened it more around Sakura. She was still grumbling and struggling against his side. "And we understand if you can't accommodate us. I'm sure there's plenty of – oh? Are you sure? Okay. We'll see you later then." He hung up and handed Sakura the phone.

She whirled back around the moment he let go. "What the hell was that for?"

"We're meeting her later. We've got an hour to kill."

Sakura opened and closed her mouth a few times before finally settling on just placing her hands on her hips. "What if she bought it and told us to go find another agent, huh?"

"I know what I'm doing. And why wait for next week when we could have it done now?"

She watched as he made his way to the driver's seat. Sakura believed that he knew what he was doing, but she wasn't going to admit that out loud. She already knew that he wasn't the type to wait for the things he wanted. He made it happen. Sakura noted that he didn't even use his name. It was just the way he was.

With a huff, Sakura entered the passenger side. She didn't have any valid reason to be mad at him since he actually did her a favor, but she still allowed herself a minute to stew. 'It wasn't as if I asked!'

Syaoran started the engine but made no movements with the car. He waited until Sakura was no longer rigid in her seat. She may not be completely aware, but he knew that she hated other people doing things for her. That was what made it more difficult in their case because he was controlling sometimes – okay, most of the time. The effects were doubled on her because of that. Thankfully, they were slowly loosening up to each other. They were learning to give the other some room.

"So..." He gave her a sideway glance. "Where to now?"

Sakura pursed her lips. She could get over things pretty quickly. "Oh, I know!"

* * *

Syaoran stood awkwardly at the middle of a baby store. Ever since Sakura found out that Naoko was going to have a girl, she had been buying little things for the baby. This would be the first time Syaoran would witness it. According to Sakura, she was just being a dutiful godmother. According to him, she was just taking her role way too seriously.

"Ooh... Look at this." Sakura held out a light pink dress embroidered with a cute little bear in the middle.

He titled his head to the side. "I'm no expert when it comes to babies, but don't you think that's a bit too big?"

Sakura let out a horrified gasp. Of course it was! The dress she was holding was for a 4-6 months baby, according to the tag. Did he consider even just for a second that babies would come out that... big? She shivered. "It's for the future!"

"Then shouldn't you consider buying something more for the immediate future?"

"But they're boring," Sakura reasoned. "And white." She returned the little pink dress. "How about you give a suggestion, huh?"

Syaoran glanced around and said the first thing he saw. "A blanket? Or..." His eyes roamed some more. "A bath towel?" He squinted. "There's even a sponge. It's pink."

Curious, they walked closer. "Hmmm..." Sakura asked no one in particular, "How do you give baths to babies?"

"How often do they bathe?" Syaoran asked his own. "All they do is pee or poop or throw up."

She rolled her eyes. Obviously, having a baby wasn't in his priority right now. "If they take a bath every day, wouldn't that dry their skin?"

"I don't know. Aren't there lotions or that type of thing for babies?"

They must have been standing there long and looking confused because a saleslady approached them with a friendly smile. "First time parents?"

Sakura flushed a brighter pink than the sponge she was holding while Syaoran tried to hide his laughter behind a cough. She quickly opened her mouth to correct the woman, "No, I – we, no –"

"I recommend this one." The saleslady took out another package from the shelf. "This is a really soft terry cloth towel. It's perfect for babies' sensitive skin."

"N-no, no," Sakura stuttered as she furiously shook her head from side to side. Syaoran was violently coughing now. "N-not together – no baby. No, no –"

"Oh. I'm sorry." The saleslady offered an apologetic smile before excusing herself.

"Stop laughing!" She berated Syaoran. "It's either we look like we're together, which I seriously doubt, or..." Her hand went to her stomach, trying to feel any bump. She wasn't the type to worry over her figure, but if someone mistakes you for being pregnant then you were bound to get conscious, too. "Shut up! Come on! Let's just go to the toys section," Sakura grumbled.

After a couple of minutes, Sakura was squeezing one of the toys and smiling at the sound it made. At the corner of her eye, she saw Syaoran looking over at some dolls. Upon closer inspection, she saw that they were Disney princesses.

"Okay, that's definitely too big," Sakura stated, gesturing to the three feet dolls. "She would have to wait years before she could play with this."

"Oh, no." A lazy grin found its way to Syaoran's face. "I was actually thinking that it was more for you. Do you like dolls?" He asked in a condescending tone.

"Jerk!" She smacked him on the arm, hard. "I can't believe you!"

"Okay, okay." He held his hands up. "No need to be stressed." Syaoran then smirked deviously. "It's bad for the baby." He patted her stomach before walking away.

"Argh! You're such a – a – ugh!" Sakura stomped in a different direction.

Almost half an hour later, Sakura ended up buying a four-piece set complete with a bodysuit, bib, cap and the cutest little booties. It was so adorable.

"We've still got some time, right?" Sakura asked, making Syaoran glance at his watch.

"Yeah."

"Let's go check out if they have the DVD already!"

He groaned. "You checked it yesterday. And I was with you the day before that. I'm pretty sure it's still not available."

"How do you know that? It's not yesterday or the other day today."

"Just forget it."

"But we're already here. It's just on the other side."

"No."

She frowned. The reasons she gave were logical, right? They were already there, why not check it out? It wasn't as if they were rushing or anything. She had always thought that if she gave him valid reasons, he would agree. Wasn't it working anymore? 'Oh, no...' What would she do? She needed to find another approach. She couldn't have him always saying no. That was just –

"Alright, alright."

Sakura was about to turn and face him, but she caught her reflection on the mirror. She was pouting. She was unconscious about it, but her face was clearly pouting.

Huh.

Wait...

She widened her eyes a bit more but was careful not to exaggerate. She stood in front of him. "Are you sure?"

When Syaoran quickly averted his eyes, Sakura almost did a fist pump. Oh my god! A huge grin was threatening to break out on her face.

It was the pout. The Pout. He couldn't say no to The Pout!

Suddenly, memories of different times came to mind – the one where they were arguing over a florist... the Jet Ski and the beach... eating in his car.

Oh ho. She was so going to utilize this.

"I can go by myself some other time."

"Whatever. Let's go." Though he was gruff, he was already heading to the store she wanted to go to.

Oh my god. Sakura cackled giddily inside.

* * *

"So you wanted a studio type apartment?" Miss Yu, the agent, asked for clarification. She gazed at Sakura then at Syaoran, trying to work out their living arrangement in her head.

"Yup." Sakura nodded.

"Okay then." Miss Yu continued. "I have five rooms to show you this afternoon, two of which are in this building. If you would follow me, please."

The three of them entered the elevator and got off at the seventh floor. Upon entering the room, Sakura's brows furrowed. She didn't like it. The windows were too small.

Miss Yu misinterpreted her reaction. "This is probably too small for the both of you. I can show you our one-bedroom apartment. Or..." She discreetly waved at her bag. "We also have two-bedroom apartments."

"Huh?" Sakura followed her eyes. The brochures she picked out from the store earlier, which contained some useful baby tips, were peeking out from her bag. She groaned in realization.

"Oh fuck," Syaoran, who was standing behind her, burst out laughing once more.

"N-n, no." Sakura became flustered again while her hand went to her non-existent belly consciously.

Miss Yu smiled. "Congratulations."

"Shit!" Syaoran was bent over holding his stomach. Sakura's version of deer caught in the headlights was just too funny.

"So..." Miss Yu looked at them expectantly.

Syaoran tried to compose himself. He was obviously going to have to talk since Sakura was still gaping. "No, thank you. Let's stick to the studio type." He placed his hand on Sakura's lower back and guided her outside. He turned to look at the agent. "This is all new to her." A chuckle escaped him after that.

That snapped Sakura out and she elbowed him on the ribs. "That's not the funny!" She growled under her breath.

"Relax. It's not healthy for the – ow!" He rubbed his side. That second hit was going to bruise. "But it is funny, trust me. You just have to look at your face and – ouch, stop that!"

Miss Yu looked at them confusedly. She didn't understand what just transpired, but hell, she wasn't getting paid to know their personal lives. She was just here to make a lease.

The fourth apartment turned out to be the one for Sakura. The selling point was that it had a balcony and a larger kitchen sink and countertops than the rest. It didn't bother her that the extra kitchen space took what should have been the living area. She didn't particularly care for that. After making arrangements to meet again to finalize the contract, Syaoran and Sakura left the building.

It was already night time and Sakura just wanted to get home. It was a Saturday and they didn't have work, but they had been out all day. They entered his car so he could drop her off.

"So tired," Sakura mumbled in between yawns. "I'm already sleepy and it's not even that late yet."

"I heard that happens. It's usually the case when a woman is –"

"I'm going to seriously hurt if you continue that sentence," Sakura snarled. "I don't care if you're driving. I swear I'm going to hurt you."

He kept his mouth in a tight line, but Sakura could see that he was just suppressing his laughter.

She moaned in despair. "You're not going to let me forget this, are you?"

"Nope."

* * *

Eriol stared blankly at the phone in his hand. Tomoyo's name flashed on the screen but he made no move to answer it.

"Aren't you going to pick it up?" Sakura asked cautiously. She suddenly felt like she was thrust back into reality with Syaoran gone. He flew out of the country a few days ago for another business trip, which made Tomoyo decide that Eriol would help her in his absence. Admittedly, Syaoran and she weren't very efficient in the planning. They weren't able to accomplish anything substantial, but things were no longer tense between them. Now, she had to tread carefully all over again.

"Let it go to voicemail."

She rocked her weight to the balls of her feet. "Are you ignoring her?"

Eriol sighed heavily. "I just figured that it would be easier if I don't talk to her."

"But wouldn't that make it worse? She would notice it if you ignore her all of a sudden."

"I... right. You're right." Eriol was grateful that Sakura was there, trying to be impartial and reasonable. "I'll call now." He didn't have to though, because Tomoyo was calling again. "Hello... Yeah, no, everything's fine... Yeah, great... Um, well listen. I'm with Sakura right now. I'll talk to you later, okay? Bye."

Sakura shifted her body again. That wasn't exactly a conversation, but what did she expect? She didn't even know.

"Sakura!" Chiharu called from the back of the pick-up truck. "I'll take these boxes upstairs."

"Thanks. I'll take care of the remaining stuff. Just make sure Naoko isn't carrying anything up there." Sakura rolled her eyes good-naturedly. She was moving in today and her friends were helping her. Naoko insisted on coming even though everyone forbade her to do anything. "Hey..." She faced Eriol again. "Thanks for helping, too. You didn't have to wake up this early."

"No need to thank me." He shrugged. "If ever, I should be the one thanking you." He was looking for ways to distract himself lately and Sakura's move was a good opportunity. Eriol gave her a small smile. "So... no more slacking. I'll do what I'm here for."

Sakura watched as he went to the back of Takashi's truck and helped the said man carry parts of the bed frame. They disappeared inside the building while Sakura went to get the box that contained her kitchen utensils. 'Oof... this is heavy.'

"Here, let me help you with that."

She looked up and saw Yukito's smiling face. He also volunteered to help today. "Oh, um, no thanks. I've got it." She actually didn't because she couldn't even lift it up.

Yukito just took the box. "Whoa, this is heavy." He chuckled, making a smile appear on Sakura's face. "This probably weighs more than you." Perceptive that Sakura didn't want to feel useless, he continued. "How about you cook for us after? I've heard from Chiharu that you're a pretty good cook. I'm a pretty good eater."

Sakura let out a small laugh. "Oh okay. Get that box up and I'll see what I can do."

* * *

Syaoran unbuttoned his cuffs as he collapsed on the sofa of his hotel room. Damn. He was still sleepy from that early morning meeting. And hungry. He decided that he would eat first before passing the hell out.

He stood up and went to get a comfortable shirt from his suitcase. He wasn't fond of unpacking. Syaoran had just removed his dress shirt when his phone rang. He glanced at it.

_The Bitch Who Owns Your Ass_

Syaoran laughed out loud when he recognized Sakura's familiar number below the name. She must have discovered the changes he made on her phone and this was her retaliation. When did she even get a hold of his phone?

He picked it up, smirking. "You're a cat. A bitch is female canine."

Sakura growled on the other line.

"And you're not supposed to growl. You mewl."

"Go to hell."

He laughed again when Sakura hung up. He waited for a few moments to see if she would call again. When she didn't, he went to his received calls and dialed her back.

"So why did you call?" He sat on his bed, stretching.

"I changed my mind," Sakura replied in a snobbish voice.

"I can easily change it back." Syaoran reached for the rectangular box sitting in the middle of his bed. "So...?"

"I was just going to tell you that I got the DVD I wanted. I was going to invite you to see it since you missed it on the big screen." She sighed dramatically. "I didn't want you to miss out on the greatness, but..."

"Really?" He played along. "Then that's too bad. I actually bought the chocolate you fell in love with the last time you were raiding my fridge." Syaoran patted the box in his hand. "I was going to share it, but..." He grinned at the dead silence that met his ear. "Since you're being selfish right now, I guess it's okay if I just eat it on my own."

"No, wait!" Sakura instantly reacted at his threat. "I'm inviting you again!"

"Hmm..." He pretended to think for a moment. "I guess I could share if you promise to be nice." Syaoran was trying hard not to laugh at the moment. He just knew that Sakura was boiling mad at his patronizing tone.

"... such an ass..."

"What was that?"

"I said I hope you're having a great time there," Sakura replied in a politely fake voice.

"Oh, I am now." He snickered. She was grumbling again and he called her out on it. "I don't think you're being nice at the moment."

"I was just wishing you a safe trip home for whenever you're coming back." She was using a sickeningly sweet voice. "I hope your plane doesn't crash. Goodbye."

Syaoran didn't have a chance to respond because she hung up again. He just chuckled before tossing his phone back on the bed. He finished changing just in time when the doorbell rang. Thinking it was the room service he called in earlier, he went to open it. "Tomoyo?"

"Hey. I missed you." Tomoyo smiled brightly. "Sorry for not dropping by earlier. You've been here for almost a week now."

"Oh, uh..." Syaoran was lost. He couldn't remember if they had a talk about meeting up.

Tomoyo saw his confused expression and waved it off. "Since we're at the same continent, I wanted to visit."

"Oh... oh, sorry. Come in." He led Tomoyo inside and they made small talk about their trip.

"So, um, about Sakura..."

Syaoran stiffened. Tomoyo was going to talk about the wedding and he didn't want to deal with that.

Sakura was right about him. He was an ass. He was a selfish ass. Because truth be told... he didn't love Tomoyo. Not like that. Syaoran didn't even believe that he was capable of loving someone like that.

He always knew that Eriol felt something for Tomoyo. He always knew that Tomoyo felt something for him. He ignored her advances. He tried to dissuade her because of Eriol and because he didn't feel the same. Syaoran even went through an endless string of girls when he became desperate to feel that way, but still... nothing. He tried to look for someone, but there was no one.

Tomoyo was the closest woman to him. He thought that if he couldn't feel that way towards her then it was more impossible to feel that way to others. He had already tried after all. Maybe he could learn to love Tomoyo – that was his thought when he accepted their parents' suggestion for marriage.

So fucking wrong.

Marriage was settling down. In Syaoran's case, he was simply settling. Tomoyo was happy while Eriol tried to be. At that time, Syaoran wanted to blame him for not doing anything. He gave them the chance to be together. He purposely distanced himself, but Eriol didn't make a move. He understood that Eriol didn't want to force himself to her, but Syaoran couldn't help but wish that Eriol tried.

That was the reason why he couldn't accept Eriol expecting more from him. He didn't do shit either. Syaoran was already pushing himself as it was because he knew... he already knew that he could never learn to love her like that. His thought failed him.

It was unfair to him, to Tomoyo, to Eriol... but shit, he was so already trapped and he didn't know how to get out without destroying everything.

This was wrong. Syaoran knew this was fucked up without Sakura telling him that. "Tomoyo, I... I think we..." He looked up and saw her vulnerability. Shit. He couldn't do it. He couldn't love her but he couldn't deliver this much pain to her, either. Like he told Sakura, what would this accomplish? It wasn't as if he had found someone. "So what were you saying?"

To Syaoran complete surprise, the topic took an unexpected turn. "Is Sakura dating Eriol?"

What? "What?"

"Are they dating?"

"No, I don't think so," Syaoran answered. Sakura was perfectly aware of Eriol's feelings and he doubted that she would get involve in that.

"Really? Because they're always with each other."

Before he left, almost all of his free time was spent with Sakura. Where would she fit Eriol in there? Then again, he wasn't aware of her free times. "Didn't you say Eriol was helping her?" Maybe they were spending a lot of time together because they had to finish what Sakura and he didn't. And that was pretty much everything.

"Yeah, but I called him yesterday. I'm pretty sure it wasn't even eight in the morning there and they're already together."

Syaoran's brows furrowed. They always meet up around noon or after work. Aside from that one time when he gave her a ride, they never met up that early.

"And Eriol said he'll call me, but he didn't."

"Maybe he just forgot," Syaoran replied absentmindedly. His mind was elsewhere. Surely Eriol wouldn't use Sakura as a rebound. She wouldn't fall for that... right? But damn. Eriol was suave, and Sakura was still a bit naïve in that department.

"But he never forgets," Tomoyo murmured to herself.

The doorbell rang again and Syaoran stood to get it. The food he ordered arrived and he offered it to Tomoyo. He wasn't hungry anymore. She declined, stating that she had to go. She was on a tight schedule and her driver was just waiting for her downstairs.

After she left, Syaoran went back to his bed to grab his phone. More than an hour had passed since their last talk. He contemplated for a few minutes before finally hitting redial.

"Hello?"

It was a bit noisy on Sakura's side of the line so he asked, "What are you doing?"

"Getting ready."

"For?"

Sakura paused for a moment, but when she talked again he could detect a hint of a smile in her voice. "For a date."

Fuck.

"I'm really in a hurry right now," Sakura continued while more shuffling reached his ears. "Did you want anything?"

"No. Nothing." He hung up. "Fuck." Syaoran cursed. Sakura was just innocently trying to help them. No matter how much he didn't want it at first, Eriol had no right to drag her deeper in their screwed up mess.

Fucking Eriol. Looks like his trip was going to be cut short. It was time to come home.

* * *

AN: Hmm, I've got nothing to say... just remember to leave me a review! :)


	12. Chapter 12

**Destined**

Author's Note: I am really, really sorry for the wait. I didn't mean to take this long. I got stuck in a scene and that delayed the release of the chapter. I just finally decided to not include it altogether.

Once again, I want to thank you all for still supporting the story. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

Chapter 12

* * *

"Hey," Sakura greeted upon opening her door to Syaoran. "When did you get back?" She hadn't heard from him since their last phone conversation three days ago.

"Today." He shrugged rigidly. He actually came straight from the airport, but he wasn't going to tell her that.

Sakura was perplexed. She could feel some edginess in the air. "Uh... come in?"

Syaoran entered her new apartment. It was completely bare the last time he was here, but Sakura made it home. And from the clothes scattered on her bed, she was definitely at home. "What's up?" He nodded to the mess while taking a seat on one of her chairs. "Hot date?" At Sakura's light blush, he mentally cursed. "Again?"

"What?" Sakura felt offended. She misunderstood his frown. "Is it so hard to believe that I'm going out with someone?"

"No, that's not it." Syaoran messed with his hair. He reminded himself to keep cool. He wasn't looking for additional drama that was why he went here instead of confronting Eriol. Maybe he could talk Sakura out of it. "Are you sure about this?" Syaoran gritted out. "Do you even know what you're doing?"

Sakura fell on the bed with her arms crossed in front of her chest. Seriously, not even a minute together and they were going to argue? She bit out defensively, "What do you mean?"

"You do know how he feels, right?" Syaoran pointed out.

Pink tinted her cheeks again. "We haven't gotten that deep in our conversations yet..."

He scoffed. "Bull. Don't play stupid –"

"Stupid? What are, what do – argh!" Sakura was getting worked up. She had almost forgotten how insanely mad he could make her. "We're still getting to know each other! I mean, sure, Yukito likes me because he asked me out, but we haven't –"

"Who the hell is Yukito?"

"Someone from the office." At Syaoran's silence, she continued slowly, "The guy I'm going out with." 'Duh,' she wanted to add, but she kept her mouth shut. She was just going to be the bigger person. She was not going to retaliate against his seemingly aggressive approach. 'Ignore, ignore, ignore.' Continuing her mission to overlook his strange behavior, Sakura stood up from the bed. She took three dresses before comparing them in front of her full-length mirror.

"Why don't I know about a Yukito?" Syaoran finally responded. "You told me all about your friends – even if I wasn't asking. Why haven't I heard of him?"

"We work together." Sakura replied before turning to face him to hold out the dresses.

The one on the left – definitely. "The middle one." Syaoran watched as she pondered over his 'choice'. "Do you think that's smart? Going out with someone you see almost every day? What if it doesn't work out?"

"Then it doesn't," Sakura forced the words out and glared at him. It was just beginning and Syaoran was already giving it a tragic ending. "Are you sure about this?" She held out the middle dress.

"Then ask your friends about their opinion," Syaoran shot back. "Why are you even asking me and not them? Are they unsupportive? Then maybe you shouldn't go after all."

Okay, what the hell was his problem? "I'm asking you because you came while I'm deciding. And my friends are supportive, thank you very much."

"Right."

Sakura took a deep breath before pointedly turning her back on him. 'Ignore, ignore.' She went to her closet to pull out more clothes, all the while pretending that he wasn't there and that he wasn't watching her every move. It was futile. She turned around. "What?"

He kept his penetrating stare at her. "You just don't strike me as the type."

"The type?" Sakura waited impatiently.

"With your concept of 'the one' and your fairytale bullshit –" Syaoran dodged the balled-up socks she threw at him – "I thought you'll choose to date exclusively."

She was confused. "Who else am I dating?"

"Who else are you dating?" He threw back at her. "I can't believe you went out with Eriol!"

"Wait, wait – what?" Sakura quickly interrupted. "When did I tell you that?"

"The last time we talked. You said –"

"No!" She denied vehemently. "I didn't say I went out with Eriol. I was with Yukito. Why would I even go out with him? I mean, with all the, you know..."

It took awhile for the information to sink in and Syaoran only grunted in return. So she didn't go out with Eriol. And it seemed like it wasn't in her plan to change that anytime soon. Good, good. So no Eriol. But again, who the hell was Yukito?

Sakura thought she finally understood where all the questions came from but from the scowl on Syaoran's face, it seemed like she was still missing something. They had clarified the issue, hadn't they? "Is there something else?"

"Whatever." He stood up abruptly. "I gotta go."

"Um, okay." Syaoran's departure confused her as much as his arrival did. Sakura followed him towards the door. "Oh, wait, where's my chocolate?" She tried to lighten things up.

"I'm holding them hostage."

"But..." She tried to protest but he was already walking away. Oh, well. She would get it next time.

"Be nice. Behave." Syaoran called over his shoulder as he went towards the direction of the elevator. If she would just be a good little girl and stay at home for the rest of the night, then yeah, that would be perfectly nice.

She rolled her eyes at his back. "Whatever, Dad."

"I'm serious."

Sakura stood frozen as she stared out at the empty hallway. His tone was significantly different. What was that all about?

She shook herself out of it. She had a date to get ready for. Syaoran already distracted her and almost made her late the first time. She wouldn't allow it to happen again.

* * *

Sakura was experiencing a busy week. She had a piece to finish and numerous articles and short stories to edit. Her schedule was flexible but when it got tight, it got really, really tight. She had been continuously pulling an all-nighter. She couldn't even remember the last time she ate.

"Ugh..." She rubbed her eyes tiredly. She felt like a zombie right now. She was pretty sure that she looked like one, too.

"Here." Chiharu gave her a small smile as she placed a cup of coffee on her desk.

"Thanks." Even though she couldn't finish it, Sakura still appreciated the gesture.

Chiharu just nodded before returning to her desk. Sakura's eyes then swept over the dim office. Yukito was also slaving away on his desk.

'Yukito...' They went out again for a third time, but they never had the chance to arrange anything next because they were suddenly swamped with work. Yukito did tell her that he wanted to continue seeing her. When she agreed, he gave her a soft, quick kiss.

Where were the sparks?

That was Sakura's question right after. She wanted to smack herself for that incredibly unromantic thought, but she couldn't shake it off. Seriously, she was just looking for a bit of spark. It wasn't as if she was asking for some elaborate fireworks.

But maybe because the kiss was just too quick that it didn't really have the time to register? Yeah, must be it. And maybe she was being stringent about the idea of perfect again. Yukito passed her basic standards with flying colors. She mentioned his good qualities before and the fact that he was good-looking was already an added bonus. Why was she still questioning this?

Sakura shook her head and gazed outside the night sky. Now was not the right time to be thinking about it. She just wanted to close her eyes and rest a little but she knew that she was going to end up asleep. 'Just five minutes.' She bargained with herself as she took her phone with the intent of setting the alarm. She wasn't able to do so when she noticed the alert for a new voicemail.

_Gorgeous Asshole_

She smiled a little. Sakura was mortified when she discovered that he renamed himself. She had forgotten about that little nickname and she wasn't even aware that he knew it. Due to embarrassment, she didn't bring it up. But she also didn't change it back to his name. She just modified and added another descriptive word to it.

Sakura pressed the button to listen. His deep voice immediately filled her ear. "Uh, hey. I was just calling to ask if we're still on for tomorrow. Call me."

Oh, right. She cancelled on him twice now. And the third time was about to come. Sakura felt bad that she wasn't much help to Tomoyo lately, but Tomoyo assured her and said she understood.

Sakura decided to call back and leave him a message. She expected it to go straight to voicemail but Syaoran picked up on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Oh, you're still up." Way to state the obvious, Sakura. She grunted at herself. She was feeling a little dumb right now.

"You okay? Why are you still up?"

"Oh yeah, yeah, I'm fine." She returned her focus to the computer screen. "I don't think I can make it tomorrow... or later," Sakura corrected upon noticing the time. She groaned. "I'm still at work."

"But it's..." Syaoran paused, looking at the time. "... almost one thirty. Do you need someone to pick you up?"

"No, no," Sakura answered with a shake of her head. "Still working." Unfortunately.

"What time do you finish? How are you going to get home?"

"Oh, don't worry about that. I leave the office when the sun is up."

"Are you sure you –"

"It's okay. Besides, Yukito accompanies me on the way home."

"Oh."

Sakura waited for him to say something else, but he didn't. She just continued, "So, yeah. Sorry for not being able to meet with you later."

"That's fine."

She bit her lip at his clipped tone. Was he mad? Sakura then remembered that he didn't want his schedule getting messed up. Obviously, her cancellations were messing it up. Shit. She needed to correct this. "Maybe, um..." She tried to think of a free time so she could make it up to him but none was coming to mind. "I'm sorry." She apologized in a small voice. "I'm really sorry. If I could just, it's just – it's out of my control. I don't really want to, I mean, I'm sorry–"

"Hey," Syaoran cut her off. His voice wasn't warm, but it wasn't as cold as before. "Tomoyo just wanted to let you know that your dress is ready for fitting."

"Okay." Her finger was trying to scrape the edge of her desk. "You're not mad at me?"

"No."

She still wasn't convinced. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure." Syaoran sighed deeply. "Now go back to work. You're not getting paid overtime to talk on the phone. If you're my employee, I will fire you."

Sakura let out a small laugh. She was happy that he let it go and was even trying to reassure her in the way that only worked for them. "If you're the employer, I wouldn't even apply in the first place."

"I don't think you're going to be qualified anyway." Syaoran lowered his voice conspiratorially. "We have a height requirement."

"Oh, that's just low." She jokingly glowered. "Okay, okay. I think you had your fill of making fun of me tonight."

"Not really."

"How about you, why are you still awake? What are you doing?"

"Stuff."

Sakura waited for him to elaborate but he obviously wasn't going to.

"Alright. I'm heading to bed." Syaoran yawned loudly on the phone, making Sakura do the same. "Where it's soft and comfy and I can lie down and close my eyes."

"I can't believe you just said that." Sakura groaned. He was making her jealous and it was working absolutely well. "Hanging up now."

Syaoran chuckled. "Night."

"Good night." She held the phone to her ear longer than necessary even after hearing the click. Well, there went her five minute nap. But when she thought about it... it wasn't so bad.

* * *

Sakura rushed to the address Tomoyo gave her. She was supposed to go with Syaoran but since his meeting was running late, he told her to go ahead. The earlier they finish, the earlier she could rest. Hell week was almost on its third run.

"Hello," Sakura tried to catch her breath. She was feeling a little lightheaded. "I'm Kinomoto Sakura. Tomoyo sent me for the dress?"

"Ah, yes, Miss Kinomoto. I've been expecting you. Follow me, please."

Sakura was led further inside and the older lady gestured to the heavy drapes situated on the corner.

"The dress is inside. Please let me know if you need assistance or if there's any problem."

"Okay. Thanks." Sakura entered and she was surprised to see that the fitting room was rather big. The floor was carpeted and the three way mirror covered the entire height of the wall. There was also a long white sofa on the side with an end table. She stared at it for a moment longer before shaking her head. 'No time for rest.' With that, she took the dress off the hook.

She had just finished zipping it up when she heard Syaoran's voice mixed with the lady she was talking to earlier. A minute later, he called out, "Kitten?"

"In here. I'm almost done." Sakura stepped on the low platform near the mirror. She turned right, then left, then nodded. Looked good. It was no doubt Tomoyo's design. Simple but elegant.

Syaoran was sitting in one of the overstuffed chairs in the waiting area while flipping through some magazine in boredom. Since Tomoyo wasn't there to personally assist, they were at one of her private boutiques in the city.

"So?"

He looked up... then did a double take.

Okay.

Wow.

Sakura was attractive. He admitted that before. She was charming in her comfortable jeans and shirts. She was smart in slacks. She was, well... sexy in those freaking black pumps – yeah, well, he had a weakness for heels.

But now, she truly was a vision. Green was definitely Sakura's color. She stood there in a full length strapless satin dress in the shade he chose. It had a sweetheart neckline with asymmetrical pleating that perfectly hugged the curve of her waist to the hip. The gown flowed smoothly around her form as the cluster of rhinestones glittered under the lights.

"You look –" Then Syaoran got a good look at her face. His brows knitted together. "– pale."

Sakura could only gape at him. What the –?

"It's a little too tight!" She exclaimed indignantly. But really, she wasn't holding her breath in the dress. She was constantly skipping meals for the past couple of weeks so anything she gained after they took her measurement was gone now.

"What? No, that's not what I meant," Syaoran backtracked when he realized how his comment came across.

"I'll just make them adjust it," Sakura muttered before whirling around. However, she turned around too quick and the room spun around making her stumble.

"Whoa. Are you okay?" Syaoran was on his feet at once.

Sakura shut her eyes tightly to prevent the dizzy spell. She brought up a hand to massage her head while she held out the other in a gesture to stop him. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm –" Her knees buckled below her and before she knew it, she was falling.

Syaoran was able to catch her before she hit the ground. "Kitten!" He held Sakura's limp form close to him. "Oi kitten! Sakura!" He tried to shake her but she didn't respond. He halfway turned to face the door, not letting go of Sakura. "Hey, I need help here! Oh, fuck it." Syaoran readjusted his hold and carried her in his arms.

The door opened and the lady outside gasped. "Oh my. What happened?"

He ignored her and went straight to his car.

* * *

Sakura blinked, trying to adjust her eyes to the bright lights. "Ugh..." Where the hell was she? She turned to the side and saw the green dress perched on a chair. "Oh no. I ruined the dress."

"Don't worry about the dress."

She jumped. "Oh, shi – you scared me!"

"Then we're even," Syaoran grumbled. In a louder voice he asked, "How are you feeling?"

"A little woozy." Sakura lifted her hand to rub her head again. That was when she noticed that she was on IV fluids. "What the – what's this for?"

"For rehydration."

"No, I mean..." She finally looked around. "Am I in a hospital? Why am I in a hospital?" Sakura tried to sit up but Syaoran placed a hand on her shoulder. It was the look he gave her that made her comply and lie down again. "Aren't you overreacting? Just a little, don't you think?"

"Whatever."

"I just fainted, you know. It's nothing serious – hey, wait..." Her forehead creased. "You called me Sakura."

"What?"

"I heard..." Sakura tried to recall. "I think I heard..." Maybe her mind was conjuring things up. Before she could further doubt herself, Syaoran replied.

"So? Isn't that your name?"

"Well, yeah, but you don't call me that." She pondered for a moment. "Does that mean I can call you Syaoran?"

He finally disappeared from her side making Sakura breathe a little bit better. To be honest, it intimidated her how he was standing there, all tall and broody while she was helpless on the bed.

"Do what you want."

"Syaoran." Sakura tried out his name slowly. She let the word roll on her tongue. "Syao syao, Rany, Syao –"

"No." He scowled at her ridiculous attempt to give him a ridiculous nickname.

"Alright. Syaoran." She smiled. His name was nice. "So, can I get out now?"

"You're still under observation."

"Geez, I just fainted." She repeated as she lifted her head to look for him since his voice seemed farther away. Then her mouth dropped open when she finally took in her surroundings. "Oh, Christ."

The bedroom was big. It easily rivaled the size of her entire apartment. It was tastefully decorated and looked really chic. The walls weren't even white. It was a refreshing color of soft blue that went nicely with the landscape painting hung in front of her bed – a hospital bed, which was bigger than normal. Behind the cozy sofa and loveseat was the view outside. They were definitely high up.

And that was just the bedroom. The door to the bathroom was closed but she could see through the other open door. Ugh... was that a glass dining table? It was large since she could easily count eight chairs around it from her position. She also saw a hint of dark wood, which she properly guessed was the kitchenette. Sakura didn't need anyone to tell her that there was also a living area out there that was completely furnished with modern pieces of furniture.

"Syaoran!"

"What? What?" He rushed inside her room.

Sakura was already in an upright position. Her one hand was clutching the no doubt expensive cotton sheets while the other extended in front of her. "What am I doing here?"

He suddenly looked concerned. "You don't... remember?"

"What? Ugh! No!" Sakura groused. "You didn't have to bring me to a hospital in the first place, but confining me in a hospital suite?" If it wasn't for the bed and the medical equipment near her, she would have thought that she was in a hotel. Clearly, overreacting was an understatement in his case. "What are you going to tell me now, that there's a jacuzzi in the bathroom too?"

Syaoran looked away. It probably wasn't smart to tell her that she was right. He just adopted an irritated look. "What's your problem?"

"All this is unnecessary!" And because she was stubborn, she went to remove the IV to prove her point. In a flash, Syaoran was beside her and stopping her movement.

"You fainted from too much fatigue," Syaoran started in a deathly low voice. "You're not taking care of yourself so now you're going to rest." His tone left no room for argument. "And I am going to make damn sure that you rest even if it's the last thing I do."

Sakura knew that the situation didn't call for it. He was pissed and she was equally too. But still, at that moment, she couldn't help but feel the tingle that shot through her body.

* * *

AN: Next chapter is almost finished. It'll be out soon! :) Review, review!


	13. Chapter 13

**Destined**

Author's Note: Right before uploading this chapter, I was informed that _**Deeper**_ has been plagiarized (another fandom on a different website). I saw it and I'm deeply saddened over this fact. It was exactly the same. She just changed the names. Even my grammar mistakes were there.

I love _**Deeper**_. It is special to me. It was my first story and I enjoyed writing it. So for someone to claim it as her 'own' and 'one of her most treasured possessions' – it sucks. It hurts. And I'm frustrated. I just don't understand how anyone could do that.

I'm sorry. I just had to vent.

On another note, thank you once again for reading and reviewing. I really appreciated it.

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

Chapter 13

* * *

_Li Syaoran and Daidouji Tomoyo request the honor of your prese –_

Damn it.

If Syaoran couldn't even finish reading the rest, how could he even go through with it?

It was wrong.

"Mr. Li?"

He looked up at the man across his desk while trying to discreetly smooth the edge of the sample invitation. He had been clutching it too tightly. "What was that?"

"If you approve of the design, we can produce everything in less than a week. That includes the personalized name and thank you cards, the..."

Syaoran stopped listening as he stared down at the invitation again. He distinctively remembered feeling the same struggle over this, but he just nodded and went along in the past. All he had to do was nod again. It was such a simple gesture...

He lifted his head, ready to seal the deal, but the beep from his phone made him turn towards it instead. There was a new text from Sakura.

_Already home. Still alive. Not even a scratch. You can relax now. :P_

He was unaware that his posture was rigid but after reading her text, Syaoran visibly loosened up. He knew she was being sarcastic and mocking him in her message, but he wasn't bothered. That was their thing.

"Mr. Li?"

"No." It was out even before he could think of what to say. But really, that was all the word he needed.

"Oh... er, okay." The man found himself struggling. He was pretty confident that his client was going to be impressed with what he presented since it was their company's best work yet. "Um, we can present a set of new designs in a couple of days. We can do it tomorrow but we want to make sure that we only serve you and Miss Daidouji with the best quality –"

Syaoran cut off his speech talk. "Take all the time you need." Because he was sure as hell that he was going to need it.

It was wrong. On a totally different level.

* * *

"I'm so sorry. I can't believe you were hospitalized." Tomoyo really looked remorseful. "I would have gone home sooner, but –"

"It's okay." Sakura waved it off as she poured a cup of tea for Tomoyo. "You didn't have to rush."

It was Tomoyo's turn to dismiss her worry. "It's alright. I've dealt with what I could. Everything else they can handle." She nodded her thanks for the drink before looking around. "So you moved?"

"Yep." Sakura took the seat next to her dark-haired friend. "Naoko is living with Kenji now. They helped me moved and so did my other friends. Chiharu was there, along with Takashi, Yukito and Eriol. I'm surprised we fitted all in here." She smiled a little at the memory. Her apartment wasn't exactly designed to accommodate seven people along with littered stacks of boxes.

"So, um, Eriol..."

Sakura paused but she shrugged it off quickly. Tomoyo was oblivious to Eriol's feelings, right? So it shouldn't be weird for Tomoyo to hear his name every now and then. The case was different if it was the other way around. "Yeah," Sakura started, "We were able to do a lot of things for the preparation." Not really, but it was a lot compared to what Syaoran and she managed to accomplish. "Oh, and Eriol finished the seating chart!"

"Um, okay, thanks?" Tomoyo didn't mean to sound unsure, but she was confused about Sakura's enthusiasm about it. Was she missing out on a secret joke between Eriol and Sakura?

"Er, never mind." Sakura laughed nervously. She didn't want to tell Tomoyo that Syaoran refused to get involved with it. Vehemently.

But god, he was extreme when it came to the contrary. When he made up his mind to do something, he never did it halfway. And right now, Sakura was suffering the... consequences of it.

She now had to 'take care' of herself. She had to eat, she had to sleep, she had to rest. Sakura wanted to argue, well... they did argue, but she backed down most of the time because she knew that he wasn't above force-feeding or dragging her butt home at this point.

Once or twice, okay five times, she crashed at his place for an afternoon nap. It all started when he caught her at a time where she was barely coherent and struggling to get home. Since his place was much closer, he offered and she was forced to take it. Soon enough, that became the norm for them.

To be honest, Sakura wanted to be suffocated by all this... attention, but she wasn't. She was waiting for that feeling to come so she could extract irritated energy from it, but it simply wasn't coming. Darn it.

Her musing was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Oh, wait." Sakura went to get it and she smiled upon seeing Yukito. "Come in."

Tomoyo glanced at them inquisitively.

"Right, right. You guys haven't met yet," Sakura remembered. "Yukito, this is my friend, Tomoyo. Tomoyo, this is Yukito."

"Hello," Yukito smiled politely.

"Hi." Tomoyo smiled back. "So, um, did you guys have plans..."

"Oh, no. Please, don't." Yukito stopped Tomoyo when she was about to get up from her chair. "You don't have to go. I just dropped by to get something." He grinned sheepishly while motioning to Sakura, who was already rummaging through her drawer. "I'm sorry for interrupting."

"Here you go!" Sakura produced a ring-bound heap of papers. "Sorry for taking it home with me. I was in a hurry that time."

Yukito accepted it and smiled at her reassuringly. "No problem at all." He glanced back at them. "I have to go now. I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer. Nice to meet you, Tomoyo."

"You too."

Tomoyo watched as Sakura led the man to the door. They talked for a little while before Sakura returned to her previous seat.

"Who's that?" Tomoyo asked. "I mean I'm your friend, but he didn't have a title during the introduction."

"You caught that." Sakura blushed prettily. "I don't know what to call him either. We haven't really talked about labels yet."

"Oh." Tomoyo hedged, "He seems nice."

"He is." She nodded eagerly. "He treats me really well."

"Does Eriol treat you well?"

Sakura was confused but she nodded anyway. "Yeah, of course."

"I see." Tomoyo paused, contemplating something. "I'm actually going to meet up with him later." She finally managed to persuade Eriol to see her. "You should come."

Sakura looked hesitant. "Um, I'm actually going out with Yukito later."

Tomoyo was determined. "Then we'll just go out together!"

* * *

"So how long have you been guys dating?"

Sakura choked at the question. Thankfully, Yukito answered in his usual courteous way. "We've been going out since last month."

"It's fairly new then. That's nice." For her part, Tomoyo honestly didn't want to make Sakura uncomfortable. However, she could see no other way. Based from past interactions and conversations, she came to a solid conclusion: Eriol liked Sakura.

And now she had to stop it.

Tomoyo was aware that she was the one who encouraged the idea of the two of them together. For a while there, she actually thought it worked. Sakura and Eriol took well to each other the first time they were introduced. As time passed, they seemed to develop an understanding, which she wasn't privy to. Admittedly, that bothered her. But that was what she wanted, right? She started the matchmaking.

Then along came Yukito. Suddenly, she learned that Sakura was seeing him. She couldn't fault the girl for taking interest in someone else. There was never a clear-cut picture with what was happening with Eriol and Sakura anyway. Still, that left her dear friend with no one.

So now, after realizing that Eriol liked Sakura while the latter was involved with someone else, Tomoyo took it upon herself to fix it. She had a spur-of-the-moment plan, which she dove right it. In her mind, she justified that if Eriol saw the two together in a romantic setting, then he would just get over it. She also managed to convince herself that Eriol and Sakura really didn't share anything deep, so Eriol wouldn't be upset about it. He would courteously distance himself and things would be back to normal.

Whatever interest Eriol held for Sakura that was more than on a friendship level, Tomoyo was resolved to kill it. She started it so she decided that she would be the one to end it.

"They look cute together, eh Eriol?" Tomoyo turned to the said man, who was seated next to her.

Eriol merely shrugged, not really understanding why he was being asked that. He was just relieved not to be alone with Tomoyo right now. As weird as the current atmosphere was, he wasn't ready to trade it for a one-on-one time.

"I'm sorry I invited ourselves like this," Tomoyo continued, looking a bit remorseful. "I promise to leave you guys alone on your next date." And she intended to keep that promise.

"Don't worry about it," Yukito eased her concern. "It's nice to meet Sakura's friends."

Tomoyo smiled. Putting everything else aside, she could see that Yukito was a genuinely nice guy. He was good for Sakura.

After the somewhat awkward get-together, Tomoyo found herself in Eriol's condo. Ten minutes later, Syaoran arrived.

"What's this about?"

Tomoyo was looking at the calendar. "When are you guys free?" At the questioning looks she received, she carried on, "I was thinking of planning another trip. We all need a little break, don't you think?"

Syaoran pondered for a moment. He couldn't give an exact date right now since he wasn't completely sure of his schedule. It probably wouldn't be the coming week. Sakura didn't seem like she could afford a few days off with her current work. Maybe they could plan when her load was lighter.

"I don't know," Eriol murmured. "What did Sakura say?"

"What?" Tomoyo looked torn. Had it still not sink in with Eriol? Why was he still looking for her company? "I was, um, I was actually thinking that it would be just the three of us..." She felt bad at the way her eyes automatically landed on Syaoran. She was only looking at him now because she believed that among them, he was the one who was least likely to search for Sakura's presence.

A crease appeared on Syaoran's forehead. He was a little confused. Tomoyo used to be insistent on including the other girl before.

Huh... a trip for just the three of them? It didn't sound – huh. Sakura would not be invited? Huh.

Tomoyo was crestfallen when she didn't find what she was looking for in Syaoran's expression.

"Just the three of us?" Eriol repeated slowly.

"Yes." Tomoyo tried not to show how discourage she was. Why were they like this? Why did they seem reluctant? It made her feel like... like they were looking for someone else. The both of them. "It was what we used to do, remember?"

The three of them was how it used to be. How it was still supposed to be.

Eriol wasn't looking forward to the idea. He was trying his best not to give in to Tomoyo's sad eyes. If this happened months before, he would probably – no, he would definitely say yes.

"We've done it all our life." She wanted this. She needed this. "We always enjoy it."

But at this point, it was so hard for Eriol to foolishly lay himself out there. He needed to start thinking about what was good for him, too.

"Just us," Tomoyo whispered. "Just like before."

Syaoran remained quiet. His silence gave Eriol the opportunity to do something he never did before. "I'll check my schedule."

Tomoyo froze. She struggled to say something, anything, even just an acknowledgement to what he said. But she already knew what he meant. He said it in the nicest way he could think of to spare her, but she knew. Eriol turned her down.

* * *

"You should really change that code on your door, Syaoran." A woman's voice called out as she stepped inside. An abandoned pair of ballet flats near the doorway gave her a pause as she questioned herself whether she was in the right place or not.

Going in further, she recognized the same set of furniture. The place, however, was more cluttered than she was used to. It wasn't exactly messy, just... lived-in. There were pillows on the floor, stacks of papers on the table, some books here and there, a couple of open laptops, and a phone charging on the corner.

When she heard banging from the kitchen, she found herself walking there.

"I swear I didn't break your favorite mug," Sakura quickly defended when she heard footsteps coming her way. Geez, she used it one time and Syaoran became ridiculous about it. So what if it slipped from her hand that one time? It didn't break.

"This is Syaoran's, right?"

Sakura whirled around, surprised to see a raven-haired woman standing in front of her. Syaoran didn't tell her that he was expecting someone. "Um, yeah. Can I help you?"

She looked around before finally settling her eyes on Sakura again. "Where is he?"

"He just went back to the office to get something." Sakura picked up the fallen pan. She felt unnerved at the way the other woman was staring at her.

"And he left you here alone?"

"Yeah." She nodded slowly. Sakura couldn't see anything unusual with that, but the woman was contemplating her answer seriously. Feeling the need to say something, she introduced herself, "I'm Sakura. I'm a friend of –"

"I'm Meiling. Syaoran's cousin." The very straightforward cousin.

"Ohh..." Sakura bit her lip, unsure how to continue. "Syaoran will be back soon. He left about twenty minutes ago."

Meiling waved it off as she took a seat by the counter. "Sakura... Sakura... your name sounds familiar." She furrowed her brows, trying to remember where she heard that name before. "Oh! You're the one who crashed the wedding!"

Sakura winced. It had been a long time since someone brought that up. "Er, yeah. I'm still –"

Meiling cut off the unnecessary apology. "So you're friends with Syaoran now, huh?"

"Um, sure, I guess..." Earlier, she was about to say that she was a friend of Tomoyo, but yeah, when she thought about it, Syaoran was now her friend, too. She spent a lot more time with him anyway.

"How did that happen?"

Sakura understood the question without further elaboration. "We've been spending time making preparations for the wedding."

"What?" Meiling scowled. "There's still a wedding?"

"Yeah..." Sakura answered cautiously. She could tell that Meiling wasn't jumping for joy at that news. She was still curious, though. "How come I haven't seen you until now? Were you at the wedding?"

"No, thank God," Meiling muttered to herself. "I was away on business during that time. I couldn't get away." She shrugged in a dismissive gesture.

"Oh." Sakura stood there uncomfortably. She didn't know how to proceed since their last topic seemed to touch a nerve. Then there was the fact that they were basically strangers to each other.

Meiling, thankfully, took responsibility for the flow in conversation. "So, what are you making?" She asked, nodding to the pot.

"Pasta," Sakura replied, turning to stir. "It's a new dish I'm trying. Saw the recipe on the internet."

"It smells delicious. I hope there's enough for me." Meiling grinned. Whatever mood she was on earlier appeared to have passed.

Sakura smiled back. "Don't worry. There's plenty."

"Do you want a salad?" Meiling jumped from her place, not waiting for an answer. She opened the fridge to inspect the content. "Let's see what we can make..."

The women started to hit it off with the help of food. The atmosphere was light once Sakura got over her nervousness of meeting someone from Syaoan's family. It didn't hurt that Meiling was pleasant to be with. She was blunt, no-nonsense with the way she talked – very much like Syaoran in that aspect. Thank goodness Sakura had lots of practice from the man so she was able to handle the cousin remarkably well.

"This should be ready soon," Sakura commented.

"Can't wait." Meiling turned to her and noticed that her pants were rolled up to her knees. Markings were visible on Sakura's lower right leg. She couldn't make it out since it was a bit smudged and partially hidden. Maybe she leaned on some fresh ink. "Hey, you have –"

"I almost tripped over your shoes again, kitten," Syaoran's voice echoed. "How many times have I told you not to leave it in the middle of the floor?"

Meiling frowned in confusion. Before she could start looking for a nonexistent cat who wore a pair of shoes, Sakura spoke up.

"I'm not really counting," Sakura answered cheekily. "Say, why don't you clean up after me?"

Syaoran entered the doorway while loosening the tie around his neck. He discarded it on the table next to Sakura's bag. "I'm going to make you walk home barefoot the next time it happens."

That removed the smug grin on Sakura's face. It was a real possibility that Syaoran would make good on his promise. Damn him. "You better be nice or I won't feed you."

He stood next to her, eyeing what she was making. "What are you going to do? Take the whole pot home with you?"

"Don't try me." Sakura could feel him inching closer. It was his attempt to physically remove her body near his food. Unfortunately for him, Sakura already knew this. He did it before and she wasn't going to be fooled again. "Seriously, just take a sit." She rolled her eyes as she bumped her hip against his in an effort to push him away.

Not one to back down, Syaoran pushed back. When Sakura did it again with more force, Syaoran stumbled. He was shocked when he hit another body. He quickly turned around, "What the fu –" He blinked repeatedly, but the image of his cousin right in front of him wasn't disappearing. "What the hell are you doing here?"

After processing the scene she just witnessed, Meiling had a weird look in her eyes. She shrugged it off for the mean time. "Why hello, I miss you too, dear cousin."

"Well?" He tapped his foot impatiently.

Meiling noticed that Sakura was making a face behind him. Obviously, she wasn't the only one who found his manners lacking at the moment. Flashing an innocent smile, she replied, "I'm just visiting. Is it so bad just to visit?"

"Except you never 'just visit'."

The two Lis met head-on in a staring match. Luckily, the food was ready so it gave Sakura an excuse to break them apart. The meal was surprisingly spent in agreeable conversations as they caught up to what the other was up to.

After they cleaned up, Sakura wandered back to the living area to plop down on the couch. She grabbed a book while Syaoran disappeared to his home office. Meiling went straight to the windows to admire the view. It was no secret that she envied his cousin's view. Maybe she could spend a few days here instead of her condo.

'Yeah, good plan.' She was so lost in her own thoughts, particularly how to manipulate – er, convince Syaoran to let her stay, that she didn't notice his return until he spoke.

"I told you not to rub it. You rubbed it, didn't you?"

Meiling glanced back and saw Syaoran already sitting on the floor with Sakura's leg stretched in front of him. He was inspecting the tribal drawing.

"It got itchy." She twisted around. "It's just over this area. We can redo it," Sakura continued while looking over the marks like it was serious business.

Meiling watched in amusement as Syaoran grabbed a marker from the table and started sketching on Sakura's leg.

After a couple of minutes, "Stop moving."

"It tickles."

"Is there a part of your body that's not ticklish?"

Sakura glared as she put the book down. "Of course." She knew he was just exaggerating her complaint. She wasn't moving during their first session. "It's just, your fingers..." She wriggled again.

Syaoran quickly lifted the hand holding the marker to avoid smearing. "What?"

However, it wasn't the hand that was causing Sakura to squirm. It was the hand under her knee. Every unconscious feather-light movement of his fingers tickled her.

"Ohh." Syaoran smirked as he moved his hand experimentally. "Why didn't you just say so?"

Sakura stiffened. That was the exact reason why she didn't say anything. He would use it against her. "Stop it. I'm going to kick you." And she wasn't kidding.

He just laughed, patted her knee, and moved his hand away. He would make her squirm another time. He wanted to finish the drawing.

Meiling chose that moment to walk closer to them. "Are you thinking of getting a tattoo?"

Syaoran cursed under his breath. He was so concentrated on his task, the oh-so-serious business, that Meiling's voice startled him. He had almost forgotten that she was there.

"Not sure," Sakura answered truthfully. "The idea crossed my mind, but I'm not really confident to go through it."

"I told you we can get you the sticker ones."

"Anyway," Sakura emphasized the word to show that she was ignoring him. "He found out and now he's doodling." She admired the unfinished work. "It's beautiful, but if ever I'm going to get one, it wouldn't be this big or elaborate."

Meiling had to admit that the design was coming along great, but still, she had to ask, "And you let him violate your skin?"

Syaoran snorted at that. "If anyone is violating someone's skin, it's clearly not me." He then proceeded to roll his right sleeve up to his elbow. The exposed skin revealed a femininely childish drawing of a butterfly and a flower.

Meiling burst out laughing upon seeing it. "Oh God!" She never dared imagine Syaoran, the powerful looking man clad in business suit, with such a kiddy tattoo on his arm. He went to the office with that? Yeah, nobody saw, but still. Meiling kept laughing. "How'd you do it?" She turned gleefully to Sakura. "Was he asleep?" That was the only reason she could come up with. There was no way Syaoran would willingly allow it to happen.

"I wasn't," Syaoran gritted out. It was as if he was in pain with just remembering the details. "She pouted."

"What?" Meiling didn't understand. What was that all about? Judging from Sakura's laugh to Syaoran's scowl, that simple sentence explained everything. She just shook her head and let it go. "You guys are crazy!" She grinned at them. "No wonder you two got along so well." That earned a look from Sakura and Syaoran. They both realized that it was the first time somebody thought that. Well, she wouldn't be thinking like that when she saw how they fight. Clearly, Meiling knew nothing.

* * *

AN: I'm sorry for making you guys think that I'll abandon this story. Updates may not be regular, but I'm going to continue writing this. Next chapter is halfway done. I just hope to fix the issue I stated above first. I've already reported it. Thanks for understanding!


	14. Chapter 14

**Destined**

Author's Note: Wow. I knew I can count on you guys, but just... wow. Thank you so much. Thanks for all the support and the encouragement. It really made things easier. You guys are the best! :)

So yeah... the conflict is over now. The plagiarized work was taken down. I would just like to share some details to clarify things. I got told over there that I should get my facts straight and that the one who posted the story is the same person here in FF. I have no idea what was said or done to make others believe that, but I did not post this story anywhere else. If you see Deeper's chapters or summary (or uh, Author's Note? Yeah, even my AN was copied) outside of FF, please know that it wasn't from me. I tried to talk to the plagiarist during my time there, but she wasn't replying to me. However, until the end, she was still claiming and telling others that she did not plagiarize anything. People there were nice, though. They were willing to keep an open mind and hear my side.

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

Chapter 14

* * *

Tomoyo crumpled another piece of paper. She had been working on the next season's collection, but so far, all she had to show for it were mediocre designs. She picked up her pencil again to draw a new silhouette, but not even a minute later, she groaned. It wasn't coming together. On impulse, her head turned towards the seat near the wall.

It was empty. Eriol wasn't there. He wasn't there to keep her company, to make her laugh or to tell her inconsequential stories about this and that. Tomoyo knew Eriol wasn't busy. She also knew that he knew she was locked up in here... yet he didn't come.

Before Tomoyo knew what she was doing, she was already standing in front of Eriol's usual seat. Things were changing between them, and she couldn't catch up. She could easily put the blame on Sakura since it all began when she came into the picture. However, deep down, Tomoyo knew it wasn't true. There was something in there all along, but she was too caught up in her own issue to understand. Sakura's presence just pushed it out on the surface.

'Why?'

Why did it have to change? Why now? Things were finally going the way she always wanted it to.

... But was it really?

When the high brought about by Syaoran's proposal faded, Tomoyo came to realize that the relationship between them was the same. There was still a part of him she couldn't reach and it wasn't easy to deal with, especially now that she had no one to talk to about it. Without Eriol's assurance, things were worse. She had no idea how much he made it lighter until he was gone. Maybe it was one reason why Eriol was drifting away. Maybe he was fed up with her. Maybe he had enough and got tired of always having to comfort her.

She knew, at some level, that her relationship with Eriol wasn't fair. He gave more than she did. It wasn't fair that while she was trying to chase Syaoran, she still expected Eriol to be behind her. And now that he wasn't...

Tomoyo sat down in defeat. She buried her face in her hands as different emotions tried to overwhelm her. She was sad and angry and bitter, but most of all, she was alone.

She wanted to make up with Eriol. She wanted to fix things between them, but he wasn't giving her a chance. Would she always feel like this – like she needed to go after the two very important men in her life? Would she always feel the need to get their approval?

Tomoyo's shoulder shook. Why was it so hard? It still didn't feel like she had Syaoran completely, and now she was losing Eriol, too. What did she do wrong? She was only trying to be happy. Was that so bad now?

She curled up on the seat. Tomoyo stayed there and didn't pick up her pencil again.

* * *

"Hey, hey, hey!" Meiling bellowed. She barged past Eriol and entered his condo.

Eriol grinned wryly after closing the door. "Heard you were in town."

"You heard? But you didn't visit me?" She narrowed her eyes. "What is wrong with you?"

"So preferring a quieter time is wrong now?"

"Har har."

"Besides, I knew you would come." Eriol led her to the kitchen and offered her a drink.

"You really are a bunch of unwelcoming ass," Meiling grumbled and took a seat. "Anyway, we're going to party on Saturday night so if you have plans, feel free to cancel them now."

"Nope. No plans." Eriol was already expecting this after getting a warning from Syaoran about her arrival a couple of days ago.

"Oh, how sweet." Meiling mockingly batted her eyelashes. "So you'll call Tomoyo?" She asked nonchalantly. "Although why you bother is beyond me. She never comes. She doesn't like this type of thing."

"Um," Eriol paused before shutting the refrigerator door. "You can ask her."

She looked up sharply. That was new. Usually, Eriol would suggest that they bring Tomoyo. She had nothing against that, to be honest. She just didn't see the point of asking when she already knew the answer. "What's wrong?" She asked once he was seated across from her.

Eriol shrugged. "You already said so yourself. She never comes."

Meiling stared at him. They were all friends. She just didn't agree on something so things were strained between them sometimes. There were topics that weren't up for discussion, and Tomoyo happened to take it more personally than the two guys. However, that didn't mean that Meiling would intentionally exclude her from something. "Okay. I'll ask her."

He stayed silent, prompting another questioning look from Meiling.

"Okay, something is up." She couldn't figure out what, though. "Tell me." She saw Syaoran twice already yet nothing seemed off.

"It's nothing." Eriol effectively changed the topic by asking about her boyfriend, "So how's Ryu?"

"Oh. He's still wonderful as always." She grinned. "He couldn't come because of his schedule, but he took me to a short trip before I left to make up for it." Meiling's smile turned mischievous. "The place was nice, but we didn't get the chance to appreciate it. I mean, it's not like we left the room much –"

"Oh, geez." Eriol groaned, already regretting asking the question. "There are some things I'd rather not know." How could it slip his mind that Meiling had the habit of over sharing?

"What? You asked!"

"Yeah, but you could have said that he was busy and left it at that."

"Where's the fun in that?" Meiling huffed. "So there's no one I can talk to about it? Sakura was really interested when I told her the story about how I met Ryu, how we fell for each other and all that stuff."

"You've met Sakura?"

"Yeah. Feisty one, but underneath all that fire is a mushy girl who's a sucker for love stories."

He nodded. Yeah, that described Sakura. For a moment, Eriol wondered if their screwed up affairs were messing up with her innocent and optimistic view.

"As I was saying, she was engrossed until I got in to a more detailed aspect of my relationship." Sakura started blushing and she was forced to shut up because Syaoran was in the same room and he was threatening to throw her out.

Eriol just leaned back. "Don't you have other friends to talk to? Why scare a girl you've just met?"

She ignored him and continued her rant, "And I get it why Syaoran doesn't want to hear it. We're related so it's just disturbing." Meiling visibly shivered. "Tomoyo's out of the question, too. I feel like I'm rubbing it in her face that I'm getting some while her fiancée decided to take a celibacy vow –"

He groaned again. Eriol absolutely didn't want to think about that.

"And now I can't talk to you about it, too?" She gestured at him. "What happened to the Eriol I knew? You love the ladies and the ladies love you. They come and go as you please."

"Won't your own gender be mad at you? You're practically objectifying them."

"I am not." Meiling suddenly straightened. "Wait, don't tell me..."

Eriol raised a brow. "What?"

"You've changed, haven't you?" She leaned forward and smiled widely. "You met someone!"

"I did not."

"Yes, you did!" Meiling insisted. "What's her name?"

"I did not meet anyone, Meiling."

"Ooh. It's Sakura, right?"

Eriol was taken aback. Where did that come from? Were people getting that impression?

"Nah." She shot down the idea casually. Meiling couldn't see them together.

Eriol realized that he needed to rein Meiling in before she started planning something. "If you're thinking of setting us up, Tomoyo already tried. It fell apart quickly."

"No, I'm not thinking that." Meiling frowned. "You and Sakura..." She considered the possibilities and her frown deepened. "Nope. Not happening."

"Good." He sighed. Sakura was good to him and another misguided attempt was the last thing they needed.

"Besides, she has someone, right? Yat – um, Yuu –"

"Yukito."

"Yeah, that sounds right. And speaking of..." Meiling stood up and glanced at her watch. "I have to get going. Sakura is going to introduce me to him."

Eriol followed her out. Before he could welcome some quiet time again, Meiling turned and gave him a determined look.

"I will find out who she is."

"I'd rather you didn't," Eriol muttered under his breath. He was positive that Meiling wasn't aware of his hidden feelings. She wasn't always there so she couldn't have taken notice. In a louder voice, he replied, "You're going to waste your time."

"Psh. I will find out."

"See you Saturday."

"Or you could just tell me."

"Goodbye, Meiling."

* * *

Meiling went inside the coffee shop with a reluctant Syaoran in tow. When they got there, Sakura was already buried in a book in the attached quaint bookstore.

"I still don't understand why I have to be here," Syaoran complained.

"You're my ride." Meiling fell in line and studied the menu.

"And I've already brought you here, which brings me back to the question."

"I don't know what time I'll be done. I don't want to wait for you to pick me up." She glared at him. "No whining. You're making up for missing my birthday."

Syaoran shot her an incredulous look. "Your birthday was five months ago."

"You're still making up. Now hush." Meiling moved forward. "Shoot. I don't what Sakura likes." She thought out loud, "How does Sakura take her coffee?"

"Half," Syaoran replied absentmindedly.

"Half milk, half cream?"

"No, as in she can't finish the other half. Just get her a tea or something." He glanced at the display. "And maybe a cake, too. That's enough to satisfy her."

Meiling shrugged and listened to his advice. They soon found themselves at the table.

"Oh no, you didn't have to." Sakura didn't notice their arrival. "I was just waiting for someone to come before I order." She smiled widely at the sweet treat. "Thanks, though."

"No big." Meiling sat down and Syaoran followed. He met Sakura's puzzled gaze and he rolled his eyes in return, indicating that it wasn't his choice to be there. Before they could talk, Yukito arrived and Sakura did the introductions. Syaoran just nodded when the other man greeted him. He quickly realized that this was their first meeting.

"I met your fiancée last week. She's lovely." Yukito smiled. "I know it's late, but congratulations on the engagement."

Syaoran just gave him a blank look. Was he that determined to dig his way down Syaoran's list? Sakura, already sensing the tension from him, was swift to redirect the topic. He tried to tune them out but bits and pieces of the conversation still registered. Thankfully, Meiling wasn't the over-sentimental type so there weren't much talk about sappy details. Syaoran wasn't in the mood to listen to rainbows and butterflies.

"So what's the wildest thing you've ever done?" Nobody said that Meiling's idea of an ice breaker was conventional.

"Oh, um..." Yukito trailed off, unsure how to reply. She was bolder compared to Sakura's other friends, who he met last time.

"It's okay, I'll start. The wildest thing, hmm..." She tapped her fingers on the table, trying to think of an answer.

"Are you sure you can just pick one?" Syaoran asked sarcastically. "Just trying to choose might take you all day."

"You think you're funny, don't you?" Meiling glared at him before leaning closer to the table. "Okay, I've got one." After sharing a shortened version, Sakura was bright red, Yukito was shocked, and Syaoran was downright revolted.

"Uh..." Sakura laughed nervously. "I haven't done anything like that, or even close to that. Maybe some weird crazy stunt, but... wild... like that, uh no."

"Me neither," Yukito said. "I was actually thinking of something along the lines of breaking traffic laws as my answer."

There was a moment of awkward silence until Yukito spoke up and started a topic about a show that was currently on TV. The conversation stayed neutral after that. Sakura participated and gave her input now and then. From the corner of her eye, she caught glimpses of Syaoran's reactions. He no longer looked offended but he was quiet. Something seemed to hold his complete attention. At one point, she saw him shake his head and smirk. His smile was growing wider and the fact that he was trying to hide it just made her curious.

Meiling excused herself to go to the ladies' room after Yukito stood up to take a phone call. Syaoran remained impassive, scratching his jaw and focusing on his cup.

"Okay. What?"

"Huh?" He looked up.

"What is it?" Sakura waved at his face. "You've been making this expression like... like something is funny."

"Oh. That."

"Yes. That." She stared at him impatiently. "So?"

"It's nothing."

Sakura knew she was going to regret pushing, but his hidden joke was starting to get under her skin. "What?"

"Well..." He drawled out after taking a leisurely sip. "I'm just surprised."

"Surprised?" She told herself to drop it, but she couldn't let go.

"That's your idea of the perfect man?"

"What? There's nothing wrong with him," Sakura hissed, instantly on the offense. "He's really sweet and gentle and well-mannered and –"

"Boring."

Her mouth dropped open. It took a second for his comment to sink in, and when it did, she gave him the evil eye. "He's not boring! You don't know him!"

Still smirking, much to Sakura's irritation, Syaoran replied, "And from what I saw, I'm pretty sure I don't even want to."

She continued gaping at him. How dare he!

"Bo-ring." He emphasized the syllables. "The guy was even talking about his pet."

"So?" Sakura shot back, "You talk about your car all the damn time."

"That's different. And besides," Syaoran gave her a pointed look. "What up with the change in demeanor? You're almost... nice. It's creeping me the fuck out."

"I am nice!" Sakura stated. She may be frank but she was never this assertive to her other friends. "Did it ever occur to you that I'm only this way around you?" Syaoran, from the get-go, simply had this effect on her.

He snorted. "I'm receiving the special treatment then? Should I be honored?"

Sakura growled but did not dignify his question with a response. Instead, she went back to the previous subject. She couldn't let his remark go. "He's not boring!"

He grinned, taunting her. "He is. I bet you guys talk about the weather."

"I, we –" She spluttered. They made a passing comment about the weather when they went out before, but it wasn't a conversation. "We do not! God, you're so infuriating! If you were my boyfriend, I'd stab myself."

"If you were my girlfriend, I'd hand you the knife."

"You, you –" Sakura kept glaring at him until Yukito returned.

"Are you okay?" Yukito asked concernedly when he saw Sakura's pink face.

She forced a smile. "I'm good." Her noticeable lower tone earned a cough from Syaoran. She kicked him under the table. "How about you?" Sakura asked gesturing to Yukito's phone. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah. That was just my Aunt. She was asking if I can visit over the weekend."

"Oh, okay." Sakura then went on to ask about his family. She couldn't concentrate, however, since Syaoran's words were still bugging her. 'So arrogant and obnoxious as ever. What does he know? Pft.'

When Meiling returned to the table, she announced that she was ready to leave. She bid them a quick goodbye while Syaoran gave Sakura a conceited smile. Hah. That would surely leave her agitated.

* * *

Sakura adjusted her dark blue one-shoulder dress. It ended just above her knees and the strategically placed drapes made it looked flattering and formal at the same time.

"Our table is over there."

"Okay." Sakura followed. When Meiling asked her for a favor, she was not expecting this. Her friend had convinced her to attend some charity event she had no idea about. Though Meiling insisted that it was low-key, Sakura still felt conscious.

"Finally," Meiling muttered and took a seat. She really didn't want to be here, but her parents were big benefactors. They couldn't be present so she was forced to represent them. At least she had company and didn't have to suffer alone.

As the night progressed, Meiling became increasingly stiff. Sakura, however, surprisingly found it interesting. Though parts of the speeches were mind-numbing, she felt pleased about the support that was continuously pouring in to help improve the local children's hospital.

When there was a break, Meiling stood up to get a drink from the bar. Sakura took this time to observe the people who were mingling casually. Some seemed like they genuinely care for the cause, but there were some people who looked like they were only there to show off.

A few minutes later, Sakura realized that Meiling hadn't returned. She waited a couple more before she stood up. She checked the bar, but Meiling wasn't there. She wasn't in the ladies' room, either. She wandered around the room until she returned to her starting point. 'Where are you?' Sakura opened her bag to check her phone, only to realize that after all this time, they hadn't exchanged numbers. 'I'll check the bar again.'

"Miss."

Sakura paused but shrugged it off and continued walking.

"Hey, Miss!"

She stopped again. This time, she turned around and saw a man in a security uniform heading her direction. She glanced right, then left, and then realized that he was walking towards her.

"Yes?"

"How did you get in?"

"Uh..." Sakura looked at him oddly. "I came here with a friend. She's –"

"Are you sneaking around again?"

"Huh?" She scrunched up her brow. Sneaking around? The man looked familiar but she couldn't place him. "I don't understand. I told you –"

"Right. Then if you're really one of the guests, I ask that you come with me and let's check your name."

"What?" Sakura knew her name wasn't on the guest list. She was Meiling's plus one. "I'm here with a friend. Her name is Li Meiling." Her eyes scanned the area but Meiling was still nowhere to be found.

"Come with me, please."

"How many times do I have to tell you –"

"I will not allow you to do this again."

Again? Why did he keep saying again? Then it all clicked. 'Ohh.' This was same man from that church. He was the security guy she lied to so she could get in. 'Oh no.' Sakura knew, without a doubt, that he would not believe her even though she was telling the truth this time. "I don't know what you're talking about." She laughed anxiously and took a step back. "Now, if you'll excuse me..." Then she bolted.

Sakura walked away briskly but made sure not to catch any unwanted attention. She darted around the tables and tried to lose herself in the crowd. She looked back and saw the top of his head just a few feet away.

'Crap! Think, Sakura, think!' Where could Meiling be? At the last second, she hid behind a pillar and leaned hastily against it. "Please don't let him see me, don't let him..." She chanted repeatedly under her breath. With extreme caution, Sakura moved her head to the side and tried to look over her shoulder. "Oh, crap!" He almost saw her. She returned to her previous position, only to come face to face with someone else. "Shit!"

Syaoran was looking down at her in amusement. "Aren't you a little too old for hide and seek? Then again –"

"Ssh!" Without thinking about it, Sakura grabbed the front of his suit and forced him to hide next to her.

"What the hell did you do this time?"

"Be quiet!" She hissed and clutched him tighter. Her only concern was not to be found.

"Miss." Too late. The security guy was standing next to her. "Please come with me quietly."

"But I'm telling the truth!" Sakura protested.

"What's going on here?" Syaoran stepped in, fixing the front of his vest.

The man instantly recognized him and bowed his head. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience, Sir. The lady here trespassed and I was trying to escort her out of the area."

Sakura saw the side of Syaoran's lip curl up. He was finding this funny.

"Miss."

"I'm not, I swear!"

"It's okay." Syaoran waved at him dismissively. "She's with me."

The guard wavered. The lady claimed earlier that she was with a friend and that person was supposed to be a woman. Nonetheless, he couldn't question Mr. Li's statement. "Sir..."

"Do we have a problem?"

"No, Sir." With one last doubtful look, he left.

Sakura slumped back while Syaoran stared at her. "You really do know how to find trouble, don't you?"

"But it wasn't my fault." Sakura groaned. "I'm here with Meiling." Her eyes darted around again. "She took me here. When she showed up with a dress, I was left without a choice."

Syaoran contemplated. Yup, that sounded like Meiling. "I'll help you look." He already had an inkling of what was going on. They emerged from behind the pillar and scanned the crowd. After minutes of fruitless search, Syaoran sighed and declared, "She left."

"What?"

"She left."

"I heard you, but what do you mean?" Sakura was already on her tip toes.

"Exactly just that."

"She ditched me?" She asked in disbelief as she turned to him. "She wouldn't ditch me."

Syaoran snorted. "Believe me, she left. She does it to me all the time." Meiling usually leaves him at family gatherings. He pursed his lips. "I guess that shows that she already considers you a close friend."

In the same incredulous tone, Sakura repeated, "By ditching me?"

"In her world, that means she trusts you." Syaoran shrugged. "She knows that you can take care of yourself... or maybe she knows I'm here." He paused. "I don't really know, to be honest. Her reasoning doesn't make much sense."

"Great. Now I'm stuck with you."

He raised a brow at her. "Should I leave you here?"

Sakura faltered. He was the only person she knew and she really didn't want to see that security personnel again. He was most likely keeping an eye on her. Finally, she shook her head. "Fresh air?"

He nodded his agreement and led her out towards the balcony. Sakura rested her elbows on the high railings while Syaoran leaned his back against it, still watching what was taking place inside. He was actually envious of the fact that Meiling got away.

"Meiling really didn't want to come, huh?" Sakura asked for confirmation.

"Yeah. She was never fond of these things." He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "She probably chose to drag you along because she enjoyed your company. Maybe she didn't mean to leave you, but when the opportunity presented itself, she grabbed it." He wasn't making excuses for her behavior. It was inconsiderate that she bailed, but that was just how she worked. Syaoran could barely understand his cousin's logic most of the time.

"I see." If truth be told, Sakura wasn't mad. She would have appreciated a little warning, but she wasn't necessarily angry at her for leaving. "She didn't grow up with you, right?"

Syaoran snorted. "No. Fate isn't that cruel." He loved Meiling, but he really couldn't imagine living with her. "Her family doesn't live here. She visits a lot, though."

"So she's sort of a free-spirit?"

"You could say that." He ran his hand through his hair. "Meiling is selfish."

Sakura turned to look at him with wide eyes.

"It's true. She's brash. She tends to think about herself first. Even if her action will hurt someone, as long as it isn't some permanent damage, then she'll do it." His tone wasn't unkind. He was just stating facts. "When the situation doesn't suit her tastes, she doesn't force herself to tolerate it."

"The wedding..." The words were out of Sakura's mouth before she could stop it.

Syaoran just gave her a long look before asking, "Did she say anything?"

She thought back to their first meeting. "Nothing, really. It just wasn't hard to guess."

"I'm not surprised." He breathed deep. "She wasn't particularly supportive of this whole..." He ended the sentence with an insignificant sweep of his hand.

"Does that bother you? You two are close." She frowned as she thought about it. "If it were me... I think I will be. If I have someone who's close to me like that and, I don't know... knowing that she doesn't approve... it's just, it seems hard to accept." For a second, Sakura wondered where the honesty came from. Then again, they were always forward with their approach to each other. Holding back words weren't typical for them so it was only a matter of time until it reached the issue, too.

"I'm used to it." He shrugged. "Like I said, if she doesn't like something, she doesn't hide it. Besides," Syaoran leveled her with a look, "The situation isn't exactly simple."

"Yeah..." Sakura shifted her eyes back to the night sky. "Did she tell you her reason?"

"Meiling doesn't think I'm – that we're..." Syaoran's forehead creased as he struggled to find words. "She doesn't believe, I mean... damn. She just said we're screwing things up." He huffed in annoyance. "Just because she acts the way she does doesn't mean she should expect us, too. She doesn't get it."

She nodded before resting her head over her folded elbows. "Syaoran?"

"Yeah?"

"What happens now?" Sakura asked in a quiet voice. She grasped in the fact that other people, who were not directly involved, were also affected by the mess. What would happen in the long run? "I've said before that you should just put effort for the wedding, but that seems stupid now..." She mumbled. It didn't solve anything; it just stalled the pain. "What are you going to do?"

"I..." He clenched his eyes shut. "I have no fucking idea."

"That's not good enough."

"Kitten?"

"Yeah?"

"I still think this isn't any of your business."

She smiled. That might have been true before. "But you don't believe that now." Sakura inhaled deep before standing up straight and facing him. "I'm here."

"What?"

"I'm here," Sakura repeated. "And I'm sorry." It took a while but she realized now that it was wrong of her to force him to do what she thought was right. She had taken into account Tomoyo's feelings, Eriol's feelings, even Meiling's, but what about his? He was the one she was constantly pushing, yet she never gave him an equal chance. She unconsciously placed all the responsibility on him yet she didn't stop long enough to consider his like she did others. He was having a hard time, too. Just because he wasn't saying anything or showing signs didn't mean that he wasn't. He was just as hurt. "And I'm just here, Syaoran."

* * *

AN: I would have updated sooner but I changed some parts... and then it keeps getting longer. It took some time for me to shorten/cut some scenes. I should have posted it as it was. I don't know what I was thinking. :| Anyway, thanks again everyone. And you know who you are, thanks for helping me out there.

I'm already working on the next chapter. Review, review! :)


	15. Chapter 15

**Destined**

Author's Note: I know, I know, it took me a long time... again. :| And I'm really sorry for that. I've finished about three chapters worth of writing but later decided to scrape it all out. I wasn't able to start rewriting again because of my busy schedule. Sorry everyone! And thank you so much for always being patient!

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

Chapter 15

* * *

Syaoran's fingers flew across the keyboard as numbers continually add up on his screen. When the last column was finally filled out, he took that moment as an opportunity to rest his eyes. He closed them for a bit before glancing at the figure sprawled casually on the corner.

From Sakura's lazy position, no one would have guessed that she was inside the high rise building housing the Li Industries. Why she was there, Syaoran had no idea. She would usually nag him about the wedding, but recently, she had been quiet about that topic. He figured it had something to do with that night on the balcony of the charity gala, although, to be honest, he didn't completely understand what it was about. But if it got Sakura to back off then he wasn't going to question it.

"Oi."

"... Hmm?" Sakura made a noncommittal sound, engrossed in her own laptop. Once in a while, she would look outside the floor-to-ceiling window, lose herself, snap out of it and then continue typing furiously.

"Aren't you done raping my floor?"

"Hmm?"

Syaoran's brow twitched. He knew that she was distracted, but her lack of retort showed him just how much she wasn't paying him any attention. He wouldn't have that.

Sakura, on the other hand, was absorbed with her article. The view from his office was just beautiful that it gave her an unexpected inspiration to write. It was too bad that she wasn't able to appreciate it the first time she came here, bruised body and all. But today, she was going to – ouch! "What..." Sakura blinked at the balled-up paper rolling away from her. "What's your problem?" She glared at Syaoran while rubbing the spot where the offensive paper hit. "And what was in there, a rock?"

"No, a paper weight – ow! I was kidding!"

"You're paying for that." Sakura growled.

He glanced at the now damaged mouse by his feet. "No way," Syaoran refused. "It's your fault. You're the one who broke it by throwing it at me."

Sakura sat up, eyeing the potted plant next to her. It looked quite heavy.

"Calm down," Syaoran stopped her. He knew she would do it. "Seriously, why are you here? You even made an appointment." Sakura was never the one to follow proper procedure when it came to meeting him so he was rather shocked when she walked in after his secretary announced that it was his last scheduled appointment for the day.

"Oh, that." Sakura waved nonchalantly. "I made that ages ago. Some sort of back-up plan to corner you if you're unwilling to cooperate."

"A back-up plan to corner me?" Unbelievable.

Sakura ignored him and went on, "You're really in demand, you know? That was a couple of months ago and this was the earliest spot I could get!"

He decided not to tell her that his assistant probably classified her as unimportant so she was scheduled months away. "Just tell me the next time you're planning to drop by." If Sakura tried to book another appointment, it will still be months away. She will, no doubt, have something to say and he'd rather not hear it. "I can tell them to let you in if I'm available."

Sakura started to nod but her eyes caught sight of her useless wireless mouse. She wasn't really using it, but it was hers and now she had none. Sighing, she crawled over to retrieve it.

"Fine, fine. We'll get you a new one." Syaoran looked at the clock before opening another spreadsheet. "I'll just finish reviewing this one then we can go." He paused. "Unless you have somewhere else you need to be?"

"Nope." She sat back on her heels before continuing. "That's actually why I'm here too. I wasn't required to go to work, but I didn't want to stay at home. I have nowhere to be so when your secretary called for confirmation..." Sakura finished with a casual shrug.

He bent down so he could scowl at her at eye level. "So that's what I've become now? Your last resort?"

She smiled innocently in response. At that moment, the door opened.

Syaoran straightened so he could address the newcomer. "What is it – Meiling, how did you get here?"

"Well, that's what happens when your parents are major stockholders." She rolled her eyes at him. "You can get inside the building without a problem."

"That's not what I meant. How did you get inside my office?"

At this, she snickered. "That's what happens when your assistant and the floor's receptionist freshen up together."

"New security measures should seriously be implemented," Syaoran muttered under his breath.

"Hey Meiling!" Sakura waved. "What are you doing here?"

Meiling stopped dead in her tracks. "Uh..." She stared at Syaoran, then at Sakura, then at the desk from which Sakura emerged. "Whoa." Her eyes involuntarily repeated the path it had taken. "Give me a moment." She held her hand up. "My mind just totally went to the gutter."

"Huh?" Sakura blinked back in confusion.

Syaoran just snorted. Meiling's line of thought was so ridiculous that it didn't even deserve a response. Ever since Sakura walked – no, barged in while pointing and screaming to be more specific – into their lives, he constantly found himself unusual situations. He had learned to accept that something beyond normal would always happen when they were together. Syaoran merely returned to his work while Sakura stood up, absently inspecting her wireless mouse.

Meiling, having recovered from what her mind conjured, let out a loud laugh. "Oh man! You guys are really something else!" Still shaking her head in amusement, she made herself comfortable in one of his leather couches. "I bet you two are never boring."

Sakura instantly stiffened at the b-word. She somehow developed a dislike of hearing that word ever since Syaoran used it to describe her relationship with Yukito. Discreetly, she turned her eyes to Syaoran to see his reaction. He was unaffected. He simply repeated her earlier question. "So what are you doing here?"

"Ah, yes. I need a new dress –"

"Not happening," Syaoran interrupted, already knowing where his cousin was going on with this. Accompanying Meiling to buy a new dress will lead to a few more dresses, then some shoes, then some bags, and then some accessories and whatever the hell caught her attention. He experienced that torture before and he wasn't going to go through it again. "I already have something to do later." Thank goodness for the last minute plan he had with Sakura. His silent appreciation, however, was cut short by Sakura herself.

"Oh, you mean when we buy replacement for this? That's okay. Meiling can come." She turned to Meiling and grinned. "It won't take long anyway. You can shop right after."

Syaoran was quick to object. "No."

"Why not?" Meiling glared.

"Kitten will just leave you there. It's her payback since you ditched her last week."

Sakura's eyes widened. It took her a moment to react since Syaoran had stated it in such a factual tone. "I – I will do no such thing!" She smacked his shoulder before facing the other girl. "I won't do that, I swear." She truly didn't hold a grudge about it.

"Don't worry, I believe you." Meiling narrowed her eyes at Syaoran. "It's just his way of trying to stop me from coming."

"Jerk," Sakura muttered as she sat on the edge of his desk. "Meiling will come with us."

"I have a better idea," Syaoran spoke again. "Why don't you two go together? Run along now."

"Who's going to carry my bags?"

"Who's going to pay for my mouse?"

Oh, nice. He was really touched at how much he was worth in their eyes. "Team against me, why don't you?" Syaoran dealt with his cousin first. "You have your own set of hands."

"But I don't have a car."

"Then how did you get here?"

"The driver dropped me off. And no, I'm not calling him back. He asked for the rest of the day off to be with his family and I already agreed. And no, I'm not driving myself. My license expired last month."

Syaoran opened his mouth to respond only to pause a second after. "... Then why the fuck was I in your car with you behind the wheel just the other day?"

"Duh. Driving without a license."

Geez. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he swiveled his chair to face Sakura. Before he could start his argument, she was already speaking.

"But you promised!"

"What? I didn't promise anything."

"It doesn't matter. You can't go back on your word."

"You don't understand." He lowered his voice. "You can't let Meiling loose in a mall."

"Oh..." She took a quick peek at Meiling. "That bad?"

"You have no idea." When Sakura started biting her lip, he knew he got her thinking. "Besides, we'll still see her later tonight." Syaoran wasn't actually trying hard to push her since he knew that Sakura already made a decision.

She may waver, like she did earlier with Meiling, but he knew that she would find her way back. He didn't understand how or why, but there was just no question in his mind that Sakura's recently-found loyalty to him was the real deal.

Meiling watched with interest as the two conversed in hushed voices. At that point, she knew she lost. She good-naturedly dismissed Sakura's see-through excuse of having to go somewhere else and needing Syaoran to come with her. "It's fine." She stood up. "All you had to say was you wanted to be alone. I would have gotten the hint," Meiling joked, but she was met with blank stares. Oooookay. "But you have to come with me next time."

"Sure!" Sakura readily agreed.

Syaoran whipped to her. "You just got us out, why are you dragging us back in?"

"Well, I'm not going there alone."

"I know that. That's why I'm asking."

"We just have to tire her out before –"

"Hello! I'm still here." Meiling rolled her eyes. Syaoran accused her of teaming up with Sakura but he obviously didn't realize that it was the two of them who tended to forgot that someone else was present. "You might want to save discussing your plans after I'm gone."

Syaoran merely extended his hand to the direction of the door. Sakura shook her head at his behavior. She jumped down and went to link her arms with Meiling. "We'll go with you. Promise."

"I'll hold you to it." Meiling grinned at them before seeing herself out. She couldn't help but wave cheekily at the bewildered receptionist before entering the elevator.

* * *

Bodies swayed on the dance floor as loud music pumped through the speakers. The air was thick with fog as strobe lights continued to flash.

Meiling slammed her empty shot glass on the bar. "Yeah!"

"You might want to slow down," Eriol suggested from next to her. "The night is still young."

She gave him a sly look before announcing, "No Eriol, I will not do body shots with you."

People close to them turned in their direction, but Eriol just laughed it off. He was used to Meiling's brazenness. "And to think –" His reply was cut off when Tomoyo appeared in his line of sight.

"Hey..." She shot him a tentative smile before giving a quick hug to Meiling. "Am I late?"

"We're just getting started." Meiling grinned at her. "You look hot!"

"Thanks. So do you." And she was. Meiling was in this bright red number, which might be too much for others, but she pulled it off confidently.

"I know." Meiling winked.

Eriol sat there in surprise. He knew that Meiling would be true to her word and would ask Tomoyo out, but he wasn't expecting her to accept the invitation.

"Hi." Tomoyo greeted him. She bit the inside of her cheek before continuing with a smile. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I have to say now that you won't see me getting drunk like the time where you had to pick me up."

He could tell that Tomoyo was making an honest effort to relieve the tension. He wasn't an ass to ignore her pointedly. "Well..." Eriol smiled back. They were here to enjoy, after all. "We'll see about that." He pointed to Meiling, who was flagging down the bartender.

"Here you go!" She set three shot glasses in front of them, only to be replaced with two more when they were done. "Don't worry. Eriol here is our designated driver. It's his responsibility to make sure that we get home in one piece." She then leveled him with a grave look. "So I swear to God that if I wake up in some random sidewalk covered in my own puke –"

"That's disgusting," Eriol didn't let her finish. He didn't need the mental image.

Meiling simply stuck her tongue out in return before leading them towards their reserved booth. They had a private VIP lounge upstairs but she preferred to be closer to the energy.

"Where is Syaoran?" Meiling pondered out loud.

Eriol went to check his phone. "He texted me awhile ago. He was on his way. I think Sakura is arriving with him."

"Oh... I see." Meiling got lost in thought when she realized that Sakura and Syaoran were still together after she left them early this afternoon. She glanced at Tomoyo but she didn't seem to hear it, or if she did, she thought nothing of it. Meiling knew that if she was the one in Tomoyo's position, she would feel jealous if his fiancée interacted with another woman that way. Then again, maybe it was her possessive streak talking. There was no reason to doubt Sakura or Syaoran's character.

When Tomoyo and Eriol were distracted, Meiling spotted Syaoran coming through the door. She had no problem locating him because he was quite the head turner – she wouldn't even bother denying that. She was further pleased to find out that Sakura, who was walking beside him, was gaining a few admiring gazes as well.

Syaoran met Meiling's eyes and he raised a brow at the way she was staring at him. She pointedly glanced down and that prompted him do the same. It took a few beats before he realized what caught Meiling's attention. His hand was attached to Sakura's.

He wasn't the type of person to engage in affectionate gestures. The situation with Sakura was simply a product of all those times where they forcefully grabbed the other to coerce submission. It went on and on until it became something they unconsciously do. Honestly, he couldn't even remember who grabbed who this night.

Syaoran shook the unsolicited thoughts away as he let her much smaller hand go. Immediately, his senses registered the loss. Sakura was oblivious to it all. She was still busy looking for their friends. Even with an added four inches in her height, she still wasn't tall enough. Dammit.

"Over there," Syaoran pointed when Sakura started walking towards a different direction.

Meiling kept her eyes on him until they were standing directly in front of the booth. Only then did she avert it and gave Sakura an exaggerated once over. She was wearing a form fitting silver dress that ended mid-thigh. Meiling sighed dramatically. "I have hot friends."

Sakura just laughed, pink tinting her cheeks. "Hey Tomoyo! I haven't seen you in a while."

"Um yeah, work got in the way." She smiled at Sakura. It was true that she was busy with work, but she didn't exactly make an attempt to see her either, and for that Tomoyo felt a little guilty. Being with Sakura was fun, and being in a club reminded her of the time the two of them went together. She wanted that positive feeling again. "Let's go out sometime, like a spa day?"

"I'd love that." Sakura grinned before waving at Eriol. She slid in to the seat next to Meiling, with Syaoran taking the one next to her.

"What took you guys so long?" Eriol asked as everybody settled more comfortably.

Syaoran motioned nonchalantly to Sakura. "The bouncer had to see her ID."

"He did not!" Sakura exclaimed, slapping Syaoran on the arm. "I was not carded!"

"Children, children," Meiling cut in when five new shot glasses were delivered to their table. "This round is on me. Let's officially start the party!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Tomoyo stared confusedly at the lipstick she was holding then back at her reflection. "I think I'm a little drunk." Then she caught Sakura and Meiling's eyes on the bathroom mirror and the three of them started giggling.

"Stop! Don't make me go again!" Meiling laughed, supporting herself on the counter. She stepped closer to the mirror and Tomoyo finally remembered what she was supposed to do. "That's right, ladies. We need to retouch."

"Come on Meiling. Have pity on those poor unsuspecting boys." Sakura patted herself for her bag.

"They can look all they want, but they can't touch!" Meiling winked. "Only Ryu can." Then she winked again because the previous one looked like something got stuck in her eye.

"What are you guys doing?" Tomoyo giggled, not really sure what was funny. Meiling kept batting her eyelashes while Sakura was twisting around.

Sakura laughed with her until she remembered why she was doing that in the first place. "I think I lost my bag."

"What? Are you sure?"

"Yeah. It's not on me."

"Come on, let's look for it. What was in there?" Tomoyo asked as they began searching. It wasn't inside the cubicles, not on the counter, not inside the trash – not that they looked, although Meiling insisted that they should.

"Uh... my phone, money, a pack of gum, ID..." Sakura furrowed her brows. "Cards, my car key was in there too but I didn't bring a car." Why was she listing the contents of her bag again? Oh, right. "I just placed it on the table and – oh wait. I didn't pick it up." Then she laughed. "I'm so silly." She left her bag at the table.

They looked at each other before laughing again for unknown reasons. After recovering, they went back to get another round of drinks.

"So..." Meiling leaned on the bar. "I have a question." She looked at their table where Syaoran and Eriol were seated. "Who's Eriol's mystery girl?"

Tomoyo almost choked on her drink.

"Oh damn! Are you okay?" Meiling patted her on the back. Sakura was somewhat grateful that Tomoyo's reaction caught Meiling's attention first. She didn't even want to think of what would happen if it was the other way around. She tried her best to quickly school her expression while Meiling tended to the other girl.

"M-mystery girl?" Tomoyo asked, still coughing.

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure there's one." Meiling studied her for a moment. "Oh my god, you know her? Tell me!"

"I, uh..." Tomoyo peered quickly at Sakura, but the latter seemed to be looking elsewhere. "I don't, um..."

"Come on, who is it?" Meiling grinned. "I'm not going to tell. I mean, is it really a secret?"

"No, um, it's not that, I can't..." She trailed off. She wasn't sure if Sakura knew Eriol's feelings, and even if she did, it was inappropriate to talk about it in this manner. "I just, I..."

Tomoyo must not have been as subtle as she thought when taking glances at Sakura because Meiling caught on to it. "Oh gosh! You know too?" She threw her arms around Sakura. "You can tell me! Who? Who?"

Sakura froze. She didn't know what to say. Her mind stopped working and won't create any excuses for her. Desperate for distraction, she started laughing. She played up her tipsiness and laughed until the two other girls were giggling with her due to her craziness. "You know what, I think we should dance again!"

Just like in the bathroom earlier, Meiling wasn't sure why she was laughing. Her hazy mind forgot what they were talking about and the next thing she knew, she was on the dance floor. Tomoyo, on the other, was confused too but decided to just go along with it.

They blended with the moving bodies and proceeded to get lost in the music. Some tried to dance with them, but the situation was handled easily with just a look from Meiling. Not even halfway through the first song, Sakura excused herself and went back to the bar.

"Oh, god," Sakura muttered and downed three successive shots. That was close. Hopefully, nothing like that would come up again. She really didn't know how to get out it anymore. After steadying herself, she went back to their table. Syaoran and Eriol were nursing their beers while talking about some barbeque they were both invited to.

"Whoa, you okay?" Eriol asked upon noticing her arrival.

"My feet hurt." Sakura wasn't sure how the hell it answered the question, but she said it anyway. Few songs passed before Tomoyo and Meiling returned with smiles on their faces.

"Where's Syaoran?" Meiling asked, swaying in her seat to the beat.

"The bar," Eriol pointed. Huh. Sakura didn't even notice he was gone.

"So," Meiling started again. "I have a question..."

Sakura became rigid, the phrase triggering a flight reaction. "I think I'm gonna get a new drink."

"... When are we doing this again?" Meiling finished.

"If by the end of the night I don't end up at the sidewalk next to you, then we'll be doing this again soon," Tomoyo grinned back.

Even though the topic was different, Sakura decided not to stick around. She made her way through the crowd to get to the bar. "Hey!" She called out upon seeing Syaoran standing there. Sakura sat, rather ungracefully, on the stool next to him. "What are you having?"

"Just beer," Syaoran gestured to his new bottle. He was keeping himself sober.

"Excuse me."

Sakura turned to her other side and saw a brunette in a skimpily-clad outfit eyeing her in disdain. Sakura belatedly realized that she interrupted something. "Oh, sorry."

The brunette kept glaring at her, sending her the message that she found him first.

Sakura just looked back confusedly. She decided to just get her drink and get the hell out of there. "I'll have a –"

"Water."

"Syaoran!" Sakura elbowed him when he interrupted and ordered for her.

He elbowed back. "You reached your limit for the night."

"Whatever." She went to order another shot.

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

Sakura took one more just to spite him.

"Oh, how nice," the unnamed brunette started talking again. Her face morphed into a polite expression as she glanced at Sakura before smiling seductively at Syaoran. "You're here with your sister."

"What?" Sakura frowned. Is this girl drunk? She didn't look like Syaoran. Sure he was gorgeous, but it wasn't a compliment to be compared to him since his features were far too masculine.

The brunette smirked. She finally knew his name, thank the sister for saying it. "Syaoran –"

"I'm you sister?" Sakura cut in, scrunching her forehead. Maybe she heard her wrong. Damn, she probably shouldn't have drunk that last one.

"Why don't you go rest, hon?" Brunette said in an overly-sweet voice. "We'll find you later."

Sakura pursed her lips, still processing what happened. After a few tense seconds, it clicked. Her muddled brain finally caught up. 'Ooh...' Brunette was trying to strike up a conversation with Syaoran when she arrived. 'And failing miserably from the looks of it.'

At Syaoran's snort and Brunette's scowl, Sakura realized that she said it out loud.

She adjusted in her seat so she could fully face the other woman. "Don't take his attitude personally," Sakura whispered. "He's not much of a talker." She leaned back, forgetting that she had nothing to lean on. She started to fall, but Syaoran caught her by the hips and steadied her. "Thanks," Sakura murmured absentmindedly.

"I have no idea what you're saying." Brunette stuck her nose up in the air. "We're talking just fine."

"No, no, that's okay." Sakura tried to use her calming voice. "No need to pretend with me. I know how he is. Don't worry if he's not giving you any attention. That's normal for him." She nodded seriously, bringing into mind at how she used to force him to give her his time.

Syaoran bowed his head to hide his amusement. Sakura was insulting the other woman without being conscious about it.

"I mean..." She trailed off and moved her head to the side. Strands of Syaoran's hair were tickling her neck as he started laughing silently to himself. Sakura scowled at the thought that he had had an inside joke at her expense. Deciding to deal with him later, she focused on Brunette again. "I bet you probably experienced the cold shoulder, the silent treatment, or whatever, but that's okay."

Though Sakura didn't say it that way, the woman heard the words in a conceited manner.

"Although when he finally talks, he would probably just tell you to get lost." Yeah, Sakura got that a lot of times. "And he means it."

"Here, drink this," Syaoran interrupted, giving Sakura a glass of water before she could open her mouth again.

"Thanks." She took a sip distractedly.

Syaoran used that opportunity to maneuver her. He spun her around so she was facing him, effectively having her back against the woman. No matter how entertained he was by the show, he had to stop it. The woman looked ready for a fight. Not that he had anything to worry about Sakura. He had first-hand experience of her violence. But that was beside the point; Sakura was not aware of what she was doing.

Brunette started, "Listen here, girl –"

Syaoran finally spared the other woman a glance. A quarter of a second mastered look from him was all it took to stop her. He didn't even open his mouth to send her walking away. The fact that he didn't want her there was enough.

"I think she's mad at you," Sakura stage-whispered when they were finally alone.

He shook his head. "You are ridiculous."

"What? What did I do?"

"Come on, let's go home."

"-kay." She agreed immediately. The thought of lying down on her bed made her drop the conversation. Sakura slid down the stool and Syaoran had to hold her around the waist to keep her up. With his help, she managed to stagger back to the booth.

"I need to drop her off," Syaoran addressed the table. Tomoyo nodded but stated that she wasn't ready to leave yet. She missed talking to Eriol and she wasn't going to end it earlier than necessary. Who knew when she would have the next chance? "Meiling?"

She started nodding but then she shook her head. "Nope. I'll go with Eriol and Tomoyo."

Syaoran shot her a weird look before heading out. He half-carried, half-dragged Sakura across the parking lot and into his car. "Don't get sick in my car," Syaoran warned. "I'm seriously going to get pissed."

Thankfully, they pulled up in front of her apartment with no incident. Sakura had significantly mellowed down as she stumbled out after Syaoran opened the car door for her.

"Where are your shoes?"

She vaguely motioned behind her. She didn't want to wear it anymore. It was Syaoran's idea in the first place. He chose the shoes.

"The ground is dirty." He bent down to retrieve it. "Come on, wear it."

"Nooo..." Sakura shook her head and started walking away clumsily. Dirt stuck to her feet, but she didn't care. After almost tripping for the third time, Syaoran sighed.

He crouched in front of her, holding her shoes in one hand and her almost forgotten bag in the other. "Get on."

She stared blankly for a moment before understanding what he wanted. "Oh." She climbed up his back and wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his hips.

"Loosen up." Syaoran gripped Sakura under the knees to secure her. "You're choking me."

"Oops."

The elevator ride was spent with Sakura humming in the background.

"Brunette was mad at you."

"Huh?" He inserted the keys and entered her apartment.

"She was mad at you." She brought up the topic again.

"Uh-huh. Sure." Syaoran dropped her things and set her down on the bed. "Thanks for making me sound like a cold-hearted bastard, by the way."

"What? No!" She gasped, thinking he was serious. "I wasn't done!"

"Mhmm..." Syaoran nodded, humoring her. He went to get a glass of water and a couple of pills from her medicine cabinet. She was going to feel awful tomorrow.

"I wasn't done," Sakura insisted as he placed the glass and pills on her nightstand. "I was going to say that underneath all that, you're a nice guy."

Syaoran shook his head and sat beside her. Yep, still drunk. She wouldn't be caught saying positive things to him sober.

"I'm serious." She stared at him with bright, wide eyes. "When you're not PMSing, you're cool to be with."

He raised a brow at her. Sakura just complimented and insulted him in one sentence.

"No, no!" She backtracked. "You're fun. You just have to stop being moody and grouchy..."

"Yeah, well, I think you should shut up now."

She continued, "... and bossy and controlling. It also wouldn't hurt if you let me get away with hitting you once in a while. I mean, you always have to get even."

"Nope. Not going to happen."

"Yeah, I figured that out." Sakura scrunched up her face. "Besides, that would probably be boring." What was she talking about again? Since when did hitting become associated with boring? 'Argh!' There was that word again!

Syaoran stood up. "Go to sleep."

"Mkay." But she didn't move and just stared back.

After a moment, he sighed and asked sarcastically, "Are you expecting me to tuck you in?" He pointed at the sheets pooled at her feet. "Because I'm not gonna do that."

"Ohh." So that was what he was waiting for. "Right." She didn't even realize it.

"Be sure to give Meiling hell tomorrow when you wake up feeling horrible." Syaoran smirked as she settled down. "Good night."

"Mkay. Drive safe."

"Yeah." He paused, suddenly unsure. He turned back to Sakura, but she was already drifting off. Not knowing what the hell just happened, he abruptly turned around and left.

* * *

Syaoran wiped the sweat off his brow as he stepped down from the treadmill. "You do know that you have your own gym in your building, right?"

"I know." Meiling stepped further inside. "But I like the facilities here better. If you just let me stay –"

"Still no. End of discussion."

Meiling started on her warm-ups while Syaoran moved on to the weights. "I came with Sakura, by the way. She's downstairs."

"Why didn't she come with you? You're inseparable these past few days."

"Why? Jealous?" Meiling raised a brow in challenge, but Syaoran didn't take the bait. "She already ran this morning. She prefers running outside or something like that."

The rest of their time in the gym was spent in silence. Meiling cut her activity short when she noticed that Syaoran was already cooling down.

"You know..."

Syaoran paused, his energy drink mere inches from his lips.

Meiling took it as a sign to continue. "Tomoyo asked me until when I was staying."

"Yeah, until when are you going to annoy me?" He proceeded to rehydrate himself.

"She wanted to know if she could take measurement for my dress."

Syaoran frowned, hastily screwing the bottle cap back. So she finally revealed her real reason for coming. Took her long enough.

"She wanted to know if I'm still here for the wedding."

He grabbed his things and turned to go. Meiling wasn't deterred.

"I didn't give her an answer."

He entered the elevator and pushed the button for his floor with more force than necessary.

"But I'll probably decline. I'll probably be gone by that time."

"Why are you telling me this?" Syaoran growled.

"I don't know. Why am I?" She was pushing him and they both knew it. "I like Sakura." Meiling announced in a random voice, but it was anything but. "Even before I knew her, I liked her. You know why?"

Syaoran stepped out and went straight for his suite. He had all intentions of shutting the door on her face.

"Because she crashed the wedding."

He stopped walking, but he kept his back turned against her.

With an exaggerated wonder in her tone, Meiling continued, "I'm actually surprised you didn't feel grateful."

"Meiling –"

"But at least you do now."

"What are you –"

"You like Sakura." The statement was made with such finality. "You like her."

Syaoran's voice was dangerous. "You don't know what you're talking about, Meiling."

She held her ground. "Oh, so it's me who doesn't know now?" She let out a sarcastic laugh. "I would never think of you as stupid but you're proving me wrong right now."

"Go home."

"What the hell Syaoran!" Meiling finally exploded. Thank god for thick walls. "I've just been here for less than a month, but I see it – it's so damn obvious! You like her!"

He opened his mouth to reply, but she didn't give him the chance.

"You want me to point out what gave it away? How about the very obvious one right now, huh? While I have to practically beg you to let me in, she has free access!" She pointed to his closed door. "You finally changed your code and who did you give it to? I bet Tomoyo doesn't even know it!"

He clenched his fist. He knew that Meiling knew she was right.

"That's your private sanctuary – you don't let anyone stay there freely!" Meiling never let it showed how shocked she really was when she saw the Sakura all alone that first time she visited. "Don't even get me started on the looks, the touches –"

"Shut the fucking hell up, Meiling!"

"You don't even feel a fraction of what you feel for her for Tomoyo. So shit, excuse me for feeling this way!"

They glared heatedly at each other until Syaoran turned and opened the door. Meiling still followed. She knew he wanted to be alone but she wasn't willing to let this conversation die.

"Shit!" Syaoran cursed upon tripping over Sakura's tennis shoe. He recognized it as the same one they fought over that day in his office. That was a crazy memory – one of their many together. Was there even a normal one? Everything was like – his fury returned. "What the fuck, Sakura!"

Sakura was startled. She immediately sat up from her position on the chaise lounge. "What? What's wrong?"

Her concern just aggravated him. "Why is your shit all over? Fuck!"

"I – I'll get them. Are you okay?" Sakura knew that his anger wasn't the usual. He was seriously pissed and calling her by her name was just a proof of that.

"You don't get to do whatever you fucking wish to do here!"

"Syaoran," Meiling gasped, frozen by the door. She wasn't expecting this type of outburst. She knew he was mad, but not like this. He was taking it out on Sakura.

"What are you still doing here?" His eyes turned mocking and spiteful. "What? Did I send out party invites or something? Is everyone coming?"

Sakura bit her lip. "Syaoran..."

"What?"

She instantly flinched back. He looked exactly like the man she first met – someone who was angry at her and who didn't give a fuck about how she felt. "I'll, I'll go..." All along, she thought that he was okay with her being here. Apparently, they weren't on the same page. She had been overstaying her nonexistent welcome and he was finally sick of it – of her.

"Yes, finally, please! Thank you!"

"I'll just –" She picked up her bag and hastily shoved her things inside. She cursed when her notebook keep falling out. "Dammit!"

Sakura was blinking quickly now. There was no denying that she was affected by his cruel behavior. If this happened months ago, she wouldn't care. She would even shout back. But things were different now. Well, at least she thought it was.

She thought that she had gained his respect, his friendship. She had no idea that he still saw her as a nuisance in his life, and it really made her feel small. She genuinely considered him a friend, and for someone whom she cared about to just shut her out and treat her like that... it hurt.

"I – I'm sorry," Sakura whispered, making a rushed exit.

Syaoran was still breathing heavily even after a minute had passed. "Shit!"

"I was wrong." Meiling didn't even make an effort to hide her disgust. "You really are stupid." And with that, he was finally left alone.

* * *

AN: So... who saw that coming? :) Someone's getting confused. LOL. A little peek on what's going on inside Syaoran's mind in the next chapter. I'll update again next week! Thank you for reading, and please don't forget to leave me a review. Pretty please. :) Thanks everyone!


	16. Chapter 16

**Destined**

Author's Note: You guys are seriously amazing. Thank you so, so much for taking time to leave me a review. Love it! Thanks guys! :) As promised, here's the next chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

Chapter 16

* * *

Sakura was avoiding him. Not the all-out, going-out-of-her-way type of avoidance, but steering clear of him nonetheless. Several days had passed and she had remained silent about the whole thing. From an outsider's point of view, nothing was wrong since she was still basically acting the same.

But Syaoran knew it was not. There was one time where he dropped Tomoyo at the salon for some female bonding with Sakura. He accidentally made them late and he heard Tomoyo explaining over the phone that she would be delayed because he got caught up. It was clearly his fault, but when they arrived there, Sakura didn't use it against him. She didn't say anything about him making her wait or wasting her time like she would have done so before. She just waved in their general direction and simply waited for Tomoyo inside. Just like that. A freaking wave, which didn't mean anything other than a distant gesture to be polite. They freaking didn't do polite.

Syaoran huffed in annoyance. The atmosphere of his office was too quiet and that further added to his irritation.

A tentative knock sounded followed by a more tentative voice, "Mr. Li? The files you asked for are here."

"Bring them in," Syaoran responded in a curt tone. His assistant placed the folders on his desk before scurrying away. Everyone around him can sense his bad mood and no one wanted to be in the receiving end of it.

Syaoran tapped his fingers repeatedly, not even bothering to touch the files that were anxiously delivered to him. His mind was too scattered. He couldn't focus... dammit! Like he needed more for fuel for his anger.

Why was he angry anyway?

Honestly... he didn't know anymore. He was fucking confused. Maybe his frustration over his situation reached its limit. Meiling pushed too much and he was forced to release some of it. He was managing well for such a long time, but he just lost control of it like everything else when Sakura was around.

Sakura.

He felt bad at the way he treated her. She didn't deserve it, but damn... she was there and she triggered it. Syaoran didn't understand how or why, but she just did. He wanted her to be angry at him. He wanted her to fight back and shout and hit him like she used to whenever he offended her. At least, they would be hashing it out. But noooo. Still avoiding him.

"Ugh!" He buried his head between his folded elbows. To tell the truth, he didn't even know if he wanted things to be better between them. Seriously, this time he could put the blame on her. It was her fault why it was too quiet. She was too loud and vibrant that a place didn't feel the same after she had been in it. Or maybe that was just him because he liked her.

Yeah.

So he freaking liked her. He wouldn't let her get away with some of the things she did if he didn't. He liked her. He was willing to admit that much. Hell, he didn't even deny it outright when Meiling confronted him. He liked her. But fuck, so what? He liked her – in a completely platonic way. Meiling was just putting unnecessary meaning behind it. And the code to his penthouse? He just gave it to her because he got tired of constantly having to stop what he was doing to let her in for her sporadic visits. That's it. Really.

"Freaking kitten..." Still bugging him even if she wasn't here. Lifting his head, he came face to face with the framed picture Sakura gave him. It was the four of them during that short trip to the beach. Tomoyo and Sakura were front and center with matching grins. He and Eriol were more in the background, but smiling nonetheless. It wasn't the best picture but it was the only one Sakura had where the four of them were complete. According to her, he needed this to add some warmth to his rather impersonal office. Syaoran would bet that if it was up to her, she would probably make an entire collage out of his wall. If she pouted, he would probably provide her the materials. Okay, so maybe not.

Reaching out, Syaoran turned the picture down. He didn't want to see it. He didn't want to see her happy face. It further reminded him of how different she looked when he lashed out on her.

Maybe he should just leave things as it was. Polite. Distant. Sakura's presence was messing with him. He was losing it. He needed to regroup – to regain control over himself and over the situation.

* * *

"I'll call you soon, okay?" Tomoyo promised as she pulled over her car. It was her second get-together with Sakura this week and she was rediscovering the fun of being with her friend again. She was putting more effort to reconnect with the other girl and it was also her way of trying to make up for a time when she wanted to put the blame on her when things were going wrong. Though it didn't last long and Sakura didn't even know about it, Tomoyo still felt bad. "I'm sorry I had to cut it short, though. I wasn't expecting the designs to be finished today."

"It's okay," Sakura assured and unbuckled her seatbelt. "I'll just meet up with Yukito earlier than planned. I already called him." They shared a quick hug before Sakura stepped out of the car. Before she could even think of what to do while waiting, Yukito was already there for her.

"Hey, you." He leaned down and placed a quick kiss on her cheek. "Had fun?"

"Yep," Sakura smiled. "But we weren't able to get our nails done because Tomoyo had to go."

Yukito smiled back at her, reaching out to hold her hand. A light blush adorned her cheeks.

"So I got the tickets, but the movie won't start for at least a couple of hours. What do you want to do?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

Yukito and Sakura grinned at each other. If there was anything they loved to do most together, it was eating.

"There's a new one that opened last weekend," Yukito started, pocketing the tickets. "It's around the corner on the next street. Delights, have you heard of it?"

"Maybe," Sakura murmured. "Doesn't matter. Let's check it out!" Soon enough, they were standing in front of a huge glass display window, showcasing layers of sinful-looking chocolates.

"Wow."

"Yeah."

The place was packed but it didn't stop them from making their way in. Sakura was immediately greeted by the sweet aroma of the shop, and she couldn't help but inhale appreciatively. In front of her seemed like an endless tray of premium indulgence.

"Wow. I don't even know where to start."

Sakura turned and saw boxes of different shapes and sizes. Some were filled with pre-selected chocolate goodness while the others were empty, leaving the choice of picking and mixing to the customers.

The two of them looked like what little kids would in a candy shop – except they weren't kids. After a few excruciating minutes, they finally emerged with their own set of treats.

"That was painful. Forcing to choose."

Yukito laughed at her as they went out. There were no more available seats inside. "We can always go back next time."

"I know." Sakura sighed. She couldn't even stare and drool over them for as long as she wanted since the line needed to move. She shot one more wistful look towards the establishment only to pause in her track a second after. She squinted before glancing down at her own box.

The artfully embossed golden 'D' struck her as familiar. She tried to remember where she had seen it before and her memory presented her of a bigger deep red box on Syaoran's kitchen counter.

Oh... right. Syaoran had received an invitation for the private opening of that same chocolate shop. He was supposed to take her – okay, so she forced him to take her. She put up a fight and wouldn't let him see the invitation until he promised. 'That ass probably tried all the chocolates in there.' Then she stopped her thoughts.

She didn't know how to address the issue with him. She was mad, insulted, confused, and hurt over what happened. Syaoran was wrong to send her away like that, but it also made her realize how much she was invading his space. Hell, she was the first one who saw the invite and she only saw that little envelope after moaning over the first bite. She took initiative and opened and ate it without even asking him. That was just a simple example of the numerous things she did.

So she crossed a lot of lines. He didn't have to be that way. He should have talked to her about it. Meiling came and apologized, but it wasn't necessary. She had nothing to apologize for. Sakura was just sorry that it had gone down that way and Meiling had to witness it. Syaoran, on the other hand... well, she was still clueless on what to do about it. His reaction had really caught her off guard. Right now, being civil was –

"Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Sakura met Yukito's worried eyes. "What?"

"You spaced out for a minute there. Something wrong?"

"Oh, no, no." She tried to smile at him reassuringly. "I just remembered something." She shook her head as if physically shaking the thoughts away. "Don't worry about it."

He was still doubtful. "Are you sure? We can always go out another time."

Sakura then felt a little guilty. She was on a date with her boyfriend – with her kind and caring and thoughtful boyfriend. She shouldn't be worrying about a matter involving someone else. Especially if that someone else was a jerk. A bad-tempered, argumentative – no, stop. Taking a deep breath, she faced Yukito again. She reassured him, "It's fine. I'm okay." With a new resolve, Sakura pushed everything else to the back burner. She was going to enjoy her date. With her boyfriend.

* * *

"And then we're meeting again next week to sign the contracts," Tomoyo finished before taking a sip from her glass of wine.

"So it's a done deal, then?" Syaoran asked, sitting across the table from her. At her nod, he smiled. "Congratulations."

"Thank you." Tomoyo beamed. "Oh, by the way..." She rummaged through her bag, producing an envelope a moment later. "They gave me these tickets to the opera." She tried not to laugh at the sour look that crossed his face. It was no secret that he wasn't a fan of those shows. "Sorry."

"No, you're not." He rolled his eyes at her before taking the envelope. "You don't like them either."

"It's not as if I could decline," Tomoyo stated. "They're expecting us so..."

"So we're going to give up three hours of our lives."

"Just don't go disappearing on me during intermission," Tomoyo playfully warned.

He smirked teasingly. "We'll see." Syaoran opened it and looked at her in confusion. "There's only one ticket. We're arriving separately?"

"Oh, right." Tomoyo produced another envelope. "This is ours. I was about to ask you to give that to Sakura. I just got it so I wasn't able to give it to her while we were together earlier."

He frowned. "I don't think it's a good idea to invite her." Just when Syaoran thought he was getting back on track – you know, the normal and ordinary track as illustrated by this simple dinner – Sakura was being brought in again.

"Of course it is," Tomoyo replied confidently. "If Sakura is there, I'm sure she'll find something about it that's enjoyable. Her mood will surely lighten up the night."

"I don't know, Tomoyo."

"Just give it." She insisted, oblivious to the reluctance in his voice. The thought that Syaoran didn't want to be in the same place with Sakura didn't even cross her mind. As far as Tomoyo was concerned, he was over it. That was shown to her when Syaoran didn't give her the negative response she was looking for during her low point when she tried to get them on a trip with just the three of them.

Syaoran tried again. "Why... why don't you just give it to her yourself next time?"

"That's just it." Tomoyo sighed. "With this new deal, I'm going to be busy and I don't know when I can meet her again. You guys see each other sometimes, right?"

"But –"

"It'll be fine. She'll agree to it." Tomoyo closed the topic. She wasn't going to change her mind. "I would have asked Meiling to come too, but I haven't seen her lately."

"She's around... somewhere." Syaoran shrugged, not really knowing where his cousin was. Meiling was not happy with him and she was making absolutely sure that he knew it.

"I... I think it's my fault." Tomoyo's voice quieted. "She's avoiding me, isn't she?"

"No, she's not." He tried to assure her. Meiling's grudge was against him. "Don't think about it like that."

"She is." Tomoyo knitted her brows together. "I just thought, you know, that it's different now."

Syaoran waited for her to continue.

"I mean, we've bonded more this time. It's even more than her previous visits put together." She started playing with her fingers on her lap. "So yeah, I thought it's different... that she had accepted."

Syaoran averted his eyes, realizing what Tomoyo was talking about.

"So I asked her to come, but she still..." She trailed off in defeat. "Do you... do you think she'll ever change her mind?"

He stayed quiet. If there was even a remote possibility that Meiling would, it was completely gone now.

"I just wish she won't avoid me."

Syaoran had to give props to his selfish, didn't-know-when-to-stop cousin. She was hitting two birds with one stone with this avoidance thing. An avoidance which started from the same conversation she both initiated. "She won't. She'll get over it." He muttered, leaning back on his seat.

"I really hope you're right. I don't want to lose our friendship by not talking."

"You won't lose it," Syaoran told her, trying to make her feel better. "You two have known each other since we were kids."

"The length of time doesn't matter. You still can't guarantee that." She slumped a little. "And maybe not entirely lose, but things between us will change permanently. I'm not sure I want that."

Syaoran didn't like that Tomoyo was troubled by Meiling's behavior. His cousin should just take it out on him and him alone. His usual feeling of protectiveness for Tomoyo was beginning to surface again. It was already made clear that if he could do something to prevent her from making her sad, then he would. Syaoran had already proven that when he didn't banish Sakura at the beginning because Tomoyo wanted her as a friend. "I'll try and talk to Meiling," Syaoran said. That was the only thing he could offer. She didn't deserve to be hurt. God knows he was already doing a spectacular job of it. "It's going to be fine between you two."

"Thank you." She tried to smile for him. "I don't really know how to deal if it doesn't. It's just too valuable to be left like that," Tomoyo stated, unknowingly striking a nerve in Syaoran. "So how about you? How was your day?"

* * *

Sakura stretched her tired muscles before going about her nightly rituals. No matter how much fun the day was, she was ready to catch some sleep. After making sure that her alarm was set, she finally went to bed.

A series of solid knocks interrupted her otherwise peaceful slumber. She moaned and buried her head under the pillow. Who the hell was that? Her fogged up mind concluded that the person probably got the wrong door.

'Ugh!' She rolled over when the knocking started again. "No, stop..." She grumbled under her breath. Her desperate plea wasn't answered because the knocks were louder this time. 'That's it!' She threw back the covers and marched towards the door. She was going to give whoever it was a piece of her mind!

"Are you out of your goddamn –"

"What the hell, Sakura!" Syaoran's infuriated voice trampled hers.

"Syaoran?" She froze. "I – you... what –"

"Do you just open your door to anybody?" He demanded, noticing that the peephole and chain lock they bought several weeks ago still weren't installed.

"What?" His timing and approach were more than enough to set her off. "What are you – argh!" Where would she even begin? They weren't even on speaking terms! "What are you even doing here?" Was he seriously going to lecture her about security at – she looked at her nightstand and the red lights glared back at her – 2:08 a.m. She whirled around and threw back, "What the hell, Syaoran!"

"Let's go."

"Let's go?" She repeated incredulously. "Let's go?" Sakura tried to take deep breaths, but it didn't work. "Syaoran..." She gripped the doorknob as she started in an eerily calm voice. "I'm five seconds away from strangling you. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't. Five, four –"

"I have something to show you."

"– three, two –"

"Oh, please. You can't even reach my neck."

Sakura's head turned to him sharply. Oh no, he didn't. Her free hand immediately went up but Syaoran just seized and trapped it in his. He also used this hold to drag her out.

"What do –" She stumbled after him and the action made her see her furry-clad feet. "What do you think you're doing? I'm wearing my slippers!"

"Yeah, I've noticed. Nice pajamas, by the way."

Huh? Sakura frowned. She was just wearing a plain blue tank top and... oh, her cartoon pj pants. It was the first thing her hand touched in the closet! She huffed as they entered the elevator. Snatching her hand back, she gritted out, "I don't even know what to say to you right now."

Syaoran didn't answer.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Still no response.

"Where are you even taking me?" Sakura wanted to say forget it and stomp back to her room, but she was too worked up right now. Besides, her curiosity was already piqued.

More than half an hour later, Sakura's scowl was almost a permanent fixture on her face.

"Where are we going?" She asked exasperatedly. It was getting darker as they drove away from the city lights. Syaoran's fondness for driving above the speed limit wasn't helping matters either. "Seriously, if this..." She stopped when the car did. She watched warily as Syaoran stepped out from the car before following.

Without the city glow and with the headlights turned off, it was significantly darker.

"Syaoran..." Her nervousness was starting to override her annoyance. She hugged herself and rubbed her hands over her arms. It was cold. "I don't like the dark."

"Sit on the hood."

Sitting on the hood wasn't going to make things brighter but she blindly lifted herself up and she felt him do the same. It took a few more minutes for her eyes to adjust. When it did, she realized that they were in some sort of an open area. They were definitely far from civilization.

Sakura still had no idea what was happening since Syaoran wasn't saying anything. She looked up and the clear night sky filled her vision. After a couple of minutes, she couldn't take it anymore. Her patience was wearing thin. She was about to say something when a streak of light caught her attention. "Is that..." She trailed off in shock. Were they going to watch a meteor shower? Streaks of lights, not lasting more than a couple of seconds, came again. A smile started to form on her face. "Oh my God..." Sakura being Sakura, forgot everything else as she started to shake Syaoran's arm in excitement.

"I heard the peak was somewhere around this time," Syaoran's explained in a quiet voice, gently pulling his arm back. He would like to have the full use of it later. "Relax." So his resolve to keep things detached between them didn't even last twenty fours. Sue him.

Sakura mirrored his position and leaned back on the windshield. She let herself get lost in the wonderful natural display, not letting her eyes focus on one specific spot so she could see and admire the show better. Sakura loved this. This activity was truly special to her. She used to do this with her dad when she was a little girl. She couldn't believe Syaoran remembered. "Thank you," Sakura whispered softly.

She could now understand why Syaoran decided to bring them to a dark, secluded spot. And with the new moon, they were provided with a more favorable viewing condition. They had the best vantage point.

"Here." He handed her a thermos filled with hot cocoa. "Your hands are cold."

At the mention of cold, Sakura shivered. The chilly weather was instantly brought up to the forefront of her mind.

Syaoran sat up and shrugged off his jacket. "Take this." He should have grabbed hers before he dragged her out.

"No, I'm okay." Her statement was contradicted by another shiver. Syaoran took the thermos out of her hands and replaced it with his leather jacket. Unwillingly, Sakura put it on. His smell instantly engulfed her senses. "Thank you." Though the jacket was too big for her, her body relished the warmth it provided. Syaoran gave the drink back, and Sakura couldn't help but smile again when saw those colorful tiny marshmallows floating around – exactly how she liked it. "Um, thanks..." She repeated the sentiment almost shyly. It was a little hard to imagine him holding those fluffy confections while he prepared her drink.

Sakura took her time enjoying its rich flavor while gazing contentedly at the sky. For the rest of the night, they didn't engage in any deep conversation. They both knew they still have to talk, but at that moment, Sakura decided to accept the gesture for what it was – Syaoran's apology.

Sakura woke up with a start. She was lying on her side and her body was beginning to feel stiff. She noticed that it was still dark... and the air was cooler... and she was going to fall face first to the damp grass if she moved even an inch forward. She started to move back but she felt something move from her hips to her stomach.

A hand. Syaoran's hand.

Oh... shit.

She grew rigid as her body became aware that it was enclosed in his. In Syaoran's unconscious state, his body started to look for a source of heat.

'This is no big deal, Sakura.' She told herself. In one way or another, they had been tangled like this in one of their scuffle. 'This is not diffe – oh fuck, who am I kidding?' It was totally different. They were this physically close only when they were fighting. And come on, they were on the hood of a car in the middle of nowhere. That, in itself, was not usual.

Sakura tried to calm herself. She was trapped. She couldn't move in either direction. Sitting would wake him up and she didn't want that – oh no, too late! She squeezed her eyes shut when she felt him move. She heard him take a deep breath as he pulled her body closer against his.

'Crap, crap...' She cursed mentally. Syaoran was about to fall asleep again and he was clutching her more tightly than before. Before Sakura could think of anything else, she suddenly felt him stiffen much like she did earlier. He obviously realized who he was hugging.

The warmth left her back the moment Syaoran extracted himself. She heard him mutter something along the lines of 'fucking freezing' before standing up. Such a lovely mouth.

Sakura almost blew her cover when she heard a car door open. Was he going to leave her outside? He wouldn't dare! She was just deciding her next course of action when she felt his presence coming closer. She immediately loosened her muscles and evened out her breathing. Hands swept under her shoulders and knees as Syaoran carried and transferred her to the already reclined passenger seat.

Syaoran rubbed his eyes tiredly as he went around to the driver's side. He was still out of sorts but he figured that he better drive them home now. The sun was about to go up and he didn't want to get stuck in the morning traffic when they reached the city. Stifling a yawn, he absentmindedly adjusted his jacket over Sakura before pulling out.

It seemed like it was only a short time later when Sakura felt someone shaking her by the shoulder.

"Wake up. You're home."

"Wha..." Sakura blinked groggily. "Huh?"

"You're home."

"Oh." She wasn't aware that she had fallen asleep again.

"Let's go. I'll walk you up."

Sakura forced herself awake as they made their way back to her apartment. "Here." She shrugged the jacket off when they reached her door. "Thanks."

"Look, Sakura..." Syaoran called, stopping her before she could even turn around. "About that time..." He stopped, not really sure what to say. "I just, I didn't –" He wasn't prepared for this right now. Her name just came out. "What I'm saying is, ah shit..."

She looked at him in question.

"Hit me," Syaoran blurted.

Sakura was taken aback. "What?"

"Fuck, I don't know." He was just as surprised as her but he went on anyway. "Bite me, kick me, scratch me, whatever. Just hit me. We both know I deserve it."

"You deserve more than that," Sakura muttered darkly. Her negative feeling over the matter was making itself known.

"I know." He sighed as he leaned against the wall next to her door. "I know. I didn't mean for that to happen, it was just that... ah, fuck." Syaoran ran a hand through his hair, tugging at the ends. "I shouldn't – I shouldn't have... not on you... I mean..."

"It's my fault, too," Sakura conceded while watching him struggle. "I overstepped my boundaries."

"No – I mean, yeah, you do... sometimes... most of the time..." He bowed his head. Syaoran was still confused. Things weren't any clearer than they were before. He was still trying to sort it out. However, if there was one thing he did know, it was that he didn't want Sakura to act like someone other than who she really was.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if he let go a little of his control... maybe it wouldn't be so bad if he gave it to Sakura. She already invaded almost every aspect of his life, anyway. There was just no stopping her.

He pushed away from the wall. "Truce?"

Sakura got caught in Syaoran's intense stare. She had to blink twice to realize that he was asking for another chance. She smiled as she patted his chest. "Yeah."

Before Syaoran could smile back, a sharp blow landed on the same spot Sakura touched earlier. He wheezed at the impact. That was one hell of a punch – a nasty, unexpected, solid punch. "Oh sh–" He gritted his teeth to prevent the string of expletives that were dying to come out.

"You asked for it." She looked back angelically. "Just be thankful I didn't hurt you where the sun doesn't shine."

"Oh you..." He narrowed his eyes at her, still coughing.

"Truce," Sakura answered. "I don't want to fight with you anymore." She paused. They were both aware that it wasn't them if they weren't arguing. "Not that way again, you know what I mean."

"I know," Syaoran agreed quietly as he straightened himself.

"Just talk to me about it next time, okay? You know I could take it."

"I know." He repeated. But the problem wasn't really about whether she could take it or not. His outburst stemmed from another underlying issue that he was still trying to figure out himself. But for now, he felt content that he was able to patch things up with her. "I have to go." Syaoran scratched his jaw. "I have to go home and get ready."

"Oh, okay." Sakura bit her lip. "Syaoran... thanks again for last night. I really enjoyed it."

The corner of his lips tugged up. "No big." It would be better again between them. "See you around... kitten." Syaoran waved and started to walk away. He hadn't even taken three steps away when Sakura called out to him.

"Syaoran!"

"Yeah?" He turned to face her. The smile on his face instantly vanished at the fierce look she was giving him.

"You locked me out!"

Oh, crap.

* * *

AN: Someone couldn't stay away. There's still confusion in there, answers don't come overnight, but at least he's heading in the right direction... I think. Anyway, I have the next couple of chapters mapped out in my head. I just have to type it down. I'll try to release one more next week.

Have a Merry Christmas everyone! Reviews are really the nicest gift! *HintHint* :)


	17. Chapter 17

**Destined**

Author's Note: Hello again! I hope everyone is having a fantastic time and enjoying the holiday season. :) I know I say this a lot, but still, thank you. Thanks for reading. And reviewing, too. I'm really happy that you guys like it. If you have questions about the story, please don't hesitate to ask me, okay? :) Here's another chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

Chapter 17

* * *

"What... the hell is that?"

"A baby."

"Whoa." Syaoran held his hands up at the glare Sakura shot him. "So what are you doing with it – him, her, whatever, the baby." He scrambled to correct himself when Sakura's look turned darker.

"He –" She emphasized, "– is Naoko's. Naoko's nephew," Sakura amended when she saw him trying to count the months in his head. "Sshh... come on, sshh, stop crying..." She cooed, cradling the seven month old baby.

"So where is she?" Syaoran scanned the apartment, still loitering around her doorway. He eyed the chain lock on the door with satisfaction. Then again, her door was left open.

"I don't know. Please, don't cry, sshh..."

"You don't know?"

"I don't know." Anxiousness was creeping into her voice, but she tried her best to fight it off. "Sshh, please stop... Naoko... Naoko said she wanted practice," Sakura attempted to explain while trying to calm the baby. "She borrowed her nephew for the day and everything was fine, but sshh... but then he started crying, stop, shhh..."

"Yeah, I can see that."

She continued to ramble. Her words were coming out too quick. "He won't eat. He won't sleep. We don't know what's wrong – he just won't stop! Please stop..." She pleaded in between. "And then Naoko panicked, said she wasn't fit to be a mother. And then she fled! She's gone and I can't contact her, and he still won't stop! Oh, no, no, don't cry anymore, sshh, please no more..."

"Okaaay." Syaoran looked at her warily. Slowly, he went inside and placed an envelope on her table. "I was just asked to give you this. So..." He turned abruptly. "I'm going now."

"Syaoran!"

He froze but didn't dare face her.

"Syaoran!"

"I... I can't." Fuck, there was no way Sakura was dragging him into this. Not even three days after their reconciliation, she was already tangling him in another stunt.

"Don't leave me!"

"I can't stay. I'm late for... something."

"Syaoran!"

He exhaled noisily before finally turning around again. "No, kitten." His voice was firm over the wailing of the baby. "There's no way in hell I'm staying for that." He glanced down at his watch and continued his previous lie, "Besides, I have to go... somewhere."

"Crap! Is that the time?" Sakura's eyes widened when she looked at her clock. "Oh, no! I have to get going!"

Before Syaoran could react, the baby was shoved into his arms. "Oi, kitten!" He gripped the baby under the armpits and held him as far away from his body as possible. "Hey!"

Sakura was busy ransacking her closet. "Just stay there! I'm going to change!" She zoomed past him and into the bathroom.

"Oi!" Syaoran began kicking the door. "Kitten, get out of there!" The loud noises only spurred the baby to cry harder. "The hell, shut up!" He pushed the door with his body, not really expecting it to open.

"Wha–hey!"

"Oh, shi-" He turned around quickly. What was with Sakura and door locks?

"Get out, get out!" She blushed hotly and slammed the door on his face.

Syaoran shook his head, clearing his mind of the brief sight of purple lace. The bawling helped with that job. "Hey, take this back! Where are you going anyway?"

"Meeting with one of our company's publisher." Sakura's voice was muffled. "I can't cancel!" She threw open the door, stepping back when he almost crashed into her again. "What am I going to do?"

"That's your problem. Here!" He tried to give the baby but Sakura pushed past him and began shoving things to her bag.

"Hold him for a sec!"

"Come on, take it back." He glared at the baby. "Oh shut the fuck up already!"

"Syaoran!" She admonished, putting on her shoes and calling Naoko again. "She won't pick up. Oh god, make it stop! Him! Him – make him stop!" Sakura shot him a desperate look.

"There's no way you're leaving me with this."

Sakura bit the inside of her cheek. She needed to make a decision – and quick. She knew Syaoran was right. She couldn't leave the baby alone with him. Who knew what he would do to make it – him stop.

"Okay, let's go." She nodded determinedly, grabbing the diaper bag. "You're coming with me." The baby was shoved back in to her arms.

"I don't think so."

"I can't go anywhere holding him!" She reasoned.

"Again, not my –"

"Just drive me," Sakura bargained. "Just get me there, okay?"

"Fine," Syaoran gritted out reluctantly. When they arrived at the restaurant, he was somehow conned into entering with her.

"Just carry him." Sakura was careful to keep her voice down. To their utter relief, the baby had tired himself out and had fallen asleep during the ride – thank goodness. "I'll be right out." She gestured to the ladies' room behind her.

"No. The deal was to drive you here. You're here. I'm out."

"Syaoran!" She whispered edgily. "I just need to freshen up. I'm a mess." Sakura took a peek at one of the tables near the window. "They're already here. I can't face one of our company's partners looking like this."

"Yeah, well, good luck with that."

"Syaoran."

His annoyed expression disappeared at the way she was staring at him. This couldn't be good.

"Syaoran..." She repeated, her voice noticeably louder. "Please, just hold him."

He eyed her suspiciously.

"Don't do this to me."

"What... what are you doing?" Syaoran shifted uncomfortably. Some people started glancing their way.

A fake dry sob came out. "He's your responsibility too, Syaoran."

He shot her a 'what-the-fuck' look. "What responsibility? That kid isn't mine."

She gasped loudly, attracting more attention. "How could you say that? He looks exactly like you!"

He stiffened, catching on to her plan. "That kid looks like every other kid," Syaoran hissed.

Sakura ignored him and went on, "He has your eyes, and your nose, and your hair – oh wait, it's black – and your ears, and –"

"Oi!"

"How could you even deny him?"

"This isn't funny." Syaoran was trying to make her stop. He was already receiving dirty looks from their unwanted audience. "Damn it!" He scowled. "I knew it was a mistake. I should have left you alone when I had the chance." However, his words were misinterpreted and it only painted him more in a negative light.

Sakura wasn't helping matters either. "A mistake?" She echoed scandalously. "Every baby is a blessing. Don't you dare call it – him a mistake! Your own child..." She shook her head dramatically. "You won't even hold him. My poor baby."

"Kitten..." His warning was cut short when Sakura's shoulder started shaking. To others, it seemed like she was crying but Syaoran knew better. She was trying to suppress her laughter. They both knew she won this round. The more he struggled to get out, the more stuck he became. "Give it," Syaoran growled. His lips formed into a tight line as Sakura handed him the baby. "This isn't over."

"You should have listened when I asked nicely." And with that, she sauntered inside.

Syaoran stewed on his spot, daring anyone to look at him again. Few minutes passed before Sakura came back out. She was wearing light make-up with her hair and clothes properly fixed. Instead of taking the baby back, she smiled at him extra-brightly.

"Why don't you father and son go have some bonding time? The park is close by." She tapped him on the arm and gesture to the direction of the exit. "See you in an hour."

Sakura exhaled in relief. She knew that it was mean, but she really couldn't take the baby with her. Even though it wasn't a formal meeting – just a customary meal together – she was still a representative of the company and her companions were their business partners. She would just make it up to Syaoran later.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Han." Sakura was internally grateful that the table was rather far so the older couple, who owned the publishing company, weren't privy to the show earlier. "I'm really sorry for being late. I got caught up in something and I couldn't leave."

"Don't worry, dear," Mrs. Han waved it off. They were fond of Sakura. "We weren't waiting long."

"Did you dye your hair? I love that new color," Sakura gushed.

"Oh, thank you for noticing." She smiled. "I'm quite partial to it, too."

"How about you, Mr. Han? How's your knee?"

"How many times do we have to tell you, call us by our name," Mr. Han chided good-naturedly. "And my knees are fine. Don't ask about it again, though. She worries too much." He whispered the last part, pointing to his wife.

"Okay, okay," Sakura laughed. "And your daughter, Ayako?"

"She's doing well. She's excited to start middle school, but I feel like she's growing up too fast."

"I still can't imagine having my own –"

"Baby!"

Sakura froze as she watched Syaoran take the seat next to her.

"There you are. This little angel here is looking for you."

She could only stare at him in horror. 'What was he doing?' Forcing a neutral expression, she faced the older couple. "Could you excuse us for a minute?"

Syaoran didn't budge. Instead of standing, he merely flashed an innocent smile. "Is something wrong?" He then turned to the other occupants at the table. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize..."

Sakura fidgeted when she saw their curious looks. "Um, this is my, uh... friend..." She faltered, still trying to get a hold of the situation. However, her slight hesitance only aroused suspicion. "Oh, no, no!" She rushed out, when she saw them take a quick peek at their empty ring fingers. "We're just babysitting!"

Syaoran saw it as well. "Oh honey, it's okay." He lifted the kid, who he was still holding under the armpits, to deliberately bring attention to him. "I'm sure they understand. It's not that unusual to have a child out of wedlock."

The color instantly drained from Sakura's face. She opened her mouth, forcing words to come out. "I – I... it's not –" He did not just go there! "He's not... we're just, I mean –" She spluttered. Shit! It was going from bad to worse. "Have you decided what to order?" She hurriedly changed the topic. "I hear their seafood marinara is to die for!" She picked up the menu and hastily opened it to hide her and Syaoran. "What the hell are you doing here?" She whispered-yelled.

Syaoran instantly dropped the charade. "The little fucker woke up and has been staring at me since – ow!" He flinched when Sakura pinched him.

"Everything okay?" Mr. Han asked worriedly.

"Yeah, yeah, everything's great. Everything's perfect." Sakura laughed, nervousness seeping into her every pore. She ducked down again and saw that baby was, indeed, staring intently at Syaoran. "Damn, that's creepy."

"Exactly. Take him, so I can leave." He was already trying to dislodge the diaper bag. He needed out. That acting bullshit he just did was completely out of character. Sakura was supposed to be the ridiculous one. She was the only one who did something that absurd.

Mrs. Han regarded him, "Oh, you're going already?"

"Yeah." Syaoran briefly nodded at them, giving the baby back to Sakura. "Just stopped by to drop the little fu – guy." He saw Sakura's face fall. She looked every bit as hopeless as she felt. The older couple appeared to pity her, too. Syaoran frowned. How the hell did he end up as the bad guy in this scenario? He was the one who was tricked! "Oh fine, alright. I'll stay for a little while."

"Your son is adorable," Mrs. Han complimented, easing in the conversation.

Sakura coughed uneasily. "Uh... thanks? But he's not really–"

"So how long have you two known each other?" She couldn't help but be curious. This was an unexpected piece of information.

"A few months," Sakura muttered. 'Feels a hell lot longer, though.'

"Few months?" A crease appeared on Mrs. Han's forehead. It didn't add up, but she let it go. "Are there any wedding bells in the future?" She asked instead. She had honestly pegged Sakura as the type who would want to get married first before starting a family.

"Actually," Syaoran spoke, sounding conspiratorial. "I proposed to her, but she said no. She wanted to live in sin for a little longer."

Sakura could only gape at him. What. The. Hell. He did not just say that! "Oh no! No, he's just – no." She quickly wore an equally fake smile. "You're such a kidder, honey." She raised her hand to pinch him again, trying to disguise it as an affectionate gesture. Sure he was staying, but he was also making it clear that he wasn't going to make it easy on her. Asshole. "Waiter!" Sakura's hand shot up. "We're ready to order!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Oh god..." Sakura collapsed on the park bench, carefully holding the bottle of milk to feed the baby. "That was... ugh, no words."

Syaoran snickered, sitting next to her. "Why do you look like that? I found it surprisingly entertaining."

"Of course you would." She glared at him. "You single-handedly changed their view about me. Now I'm a promiscuous unmarried mom with probably another kid on the way because I couldn't keep my hands off my live-in boyfriend, who by the way, proposed six times – all of which I turned down!" Her irritation was starting to show as evidenced by her increasing volume. "Oh and let's not forget, I have violent tendencies, which I tend to exhibit on said boyfriend. Geez! How am I going to face them after this?"

Syaoran just smirked. "That'll teach you not to pull something like that on me again."

"You better remember this day, Li. I'm going to get you back for this."

"Whatever." He shrugged her off. "Christ, he's still looking at me."

"What?" Sakura looked down and let out a little laugh. "Maybe he likes you, although only God knows why."

"Seriously, what the hell are you trying to prove?" Syaoran bent down, bringing his face only inches away from the baby. "You think you're so tough? Fuck that, I can out-stare you."

"Stop that." Sakura rolled her eyes at him. "You're being ridiculous."

He narrowed his eyes at the kid. The baby simply stared back while contentedly drinking from his bottle.

"Oh how cute!"

"What a lovely family."

Sakura balked at the comments made by some passerby. They have obviously mistaken Syaoran's special attention to the baby as that of loving in nature. 'If they only knew...' She announced sarcastically, "Yeah, we're one happy family." Snorting at the thought, she addressed Syaoran again. "Stop it. He was able to look at you throughout an entire meal. You can't defeat that."

He wasn't listening. "Kitten, I think something is wrong with him."

That caught her attention. "What? What?"

"He won't blink. Something is wrong, I swear, he won't blink," Syaoran insisted. "Oh shit! Now he's cross-eyed." He immediately sat back.

Sakura lifted her hand and gently covered the baby's eyes for a second. When she removed it, it was back to normal.

"See! I told you something's wrong."

She ignored him and put away the bottle. Sakura adjusted her position and placed the baby over her right shoulder. She started rubbing circular motion on his back until he burped.

"What was that for?"

Sakura shrugged offhandedly. "I don't know. I just know you do it." She contemplated for a moment. "Why don't you try holding him?"

"No, thank you." He backed away some more.

"Just try it."

"I already did."

"Yeah, like a rag doll. Come on, do it properly."

"I said no – hey, no!" Syaoran tried to struggle, but Sakura was already transferring the baby to his arms. "Come on, what if I drop him?"

"You won't. Just hold him gently, like that, be careful..."

"No, seriously, what if I drop him? I'm telling you right now, I won't help you produce a replacement." He suddenly paused. "Wait, did that sound wrong to you as it did to me?"

Sakura blushed at his erroneous choice of words but she waved it off. "If you drop him, then we'll take Naoko's newborn as a replacement. It's her fault why the baby is with us in the first place." She tilted her head to the side. "Wow. We're one screwed up pair of parents."

"You're telling me." He returned his attention back to the matter at hand, literally. "He's so tiny. If he falls down on the pavement –"

"Stop. Don't even think about something that gruesome." Sakura had to agree though; the baby looked a lot smaller when it was Syaoran who was holding him. "Eh, what do you know, you guys kinda look nice together. Ohh, look, he really likes you." Sakura beamed when the baby closed his eyes and snuggled closer to Syaoran. "Aww, you're so cute!" She leaned closer and tickled the baby's tummy with her finger. "But your taste really needs improvement. I mean, you like Syaoran better, really?"

"Fuck off, kitten."

She laughed. "Relax!" Syaoran was stiff as a board. "You won't drop him, I promise."

His back visibly loosened as he settled more comfortably against the bench. "Fine. But if this little punk starts shitting, I'm outta here."

Sakura stopped her ministrations. "Well..." That thought wasn't appealing to her either. She never claimed to have some innate motherly nature. "We'll just have to face it together. We can do it!" She stated resolutely.

"Sakura!"

"Oh, Yukito!" She smiled brightly and waved at him from across the street.

"What is he doing here?" A frown marred Syaoran's feature as he watched the other man walk towards them.

"I called him right after Naoko bailed," Sakura explained. "I told you the baby kept crying and I thought of him immediately since he's gentle and warm and –"

"So," Syaoran interrupted rather rudely, "I'm the substitute until he arrives?"

"No, not really..." She answered slowly before shrugging. "I didn't ask you. I mean, you just came by unannounced."

"Oh nice, kitten. Really nice."

Yukito reached them at the moment. He bent down to give Sakura a light peck on the cheek before greeting Syaoran. "Hello, Li, right?"

Syaoran's only response was to give the kid back to Sakura. Yukito's attention was effectively drawn to the quiet little baby.

"Good thing he's not giving you trouble anymore." Yukito cooed at the baby.

"You want to hold him?"

"Sure." He grinned. While Sakura had to practically force Syaoran, Yukito was looking forward to the idea. "He's a cute kid."

"They all look the same to me," Syaoran muttered, repeating his earlier statement. His scowl deepened as he watched the couple fuss and giggle over the baby. What the hell happened to facing it together? He was unintentionally being ignored and he didn't like that. He already demonstrated his dislike in the past. Kitten should know better. Syaoran stood up abruptly.

"Where are you going?"

'So now you notice me.'

"What?"

"I'm leaving," Syaoran replied gruffly.

"Oh, okay. Thanks for taking care of him with me. Bye."

He looked at her incredulously. "That's it?"

Sakura looked at him in confusion. "Um, did you want something?"

His eyes narrowed. "Whatever."

"Okaaay." She waved. "Thanks again."

Syaoran shot her one last glare before stomping off.

* * *

"Hey."

Eriol did a double take. "Oh... Tomoyo."

She waited for him to say something more, but he simply returned to work. Tomoyo was a bit discouraged, but she steeled herself and entered his office.

"So –" She began, but Eriol cut her off.

"Do you need anything?"

"Oh, um, no." She hesitated in her step. The little bit of confidence she had left was starting to fade.

Eriol, on the other hand, didn't mean to sound unwelcoming. Or maybe he did. He wasn't sure anymore. He could face her in group activities, but he wasn't ready to be alone with her yet.

"I, well... I just wanted to see how you are."

"And?"

"And?" She was confused. "That's it."

'That's new.'

"What was that?"

He lifted his head to look at her briefly. Shrugging, he stated, "Nothing."

"No. You said 'that's new.' What do you mean?" Tomoyo was now standing in front of his desk.

Eriol sighed and placed his pen down. "So things with Syaoran are okay then?"

"What?" She was caught off guard at the question. Things with Syaoran were the same. At a standstill. Not going anywhere. But that was honestly not in her mind right now. "I..." Tomoyo cleared her throat. "I must have come to you and whined a lot about my relationship, huh?" She tried to poke fun at herself, but it didn't illicit any reaction from him. She tried again. "I just wanted to know what you're up to. You don't visit me anymore." After that night at the bar, she never saw Eriol again.

"I have a life that doesn't revolve –" He stopped himself. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't continuously be cold towards her. Besides, what he was about to say wasn't the entire truth. He was still trying to create a life that didn't revolve around her.

"I wasn't even thinking that," Tomoyo protested, dropping her bag to the chair. "Don't twist it around. That's unfair."

A bitter laugh escaped him. "Unfair? You don't even know what you're talking about."

"What?" Her brows scrunched together.

Eriol, however, didn't explain. He couldn't deal with this right now. "You wanted to know what I'm doing. I'm working." He stood up and nodded to the door.

"I... you –" Her voice shook with hurt. "You can't do that to me. You can't send me out."

He smiled humorlessly. "Isn't this just another example of unfair? You always ask me to leave when you want to be alone, but now you can't even extend the same courtesy?"

Tomoyo defended, "I don't do that."

"You do. Always." Eriol stepped around the desk so he was now standing in front of her. "And I hate it when you do."

"I – I don't..." She trailed off weakly after realizing he was right. She did that. Always.

"I can only take so much rejection, Tomoyo."

"I, no, I..." Wetness suddenly started gathering at the corner of her eyes. She never meant for Eriol to feel that way. She just didn't want anyone seeing her when she wasn't at her best. "I'm not doing –"

"Only shutting me out." Eriol took a deep breath to gather himself. "Please go."

"No!" Her voice rose. She wasn't going to allow this to continue. "I wasn't rejecting you. Please believe me."

'But you are,' Eriol wanted to say. She was still rejecting him in another way. "Just go."

"No!" Tomoyo stood her ground. "Not until you tell me what's wrong." She knew there was something terribly wrong.

"Go." Eriol repeated as his fist clenched. It was hard for him to ask her repeatedly to leave him alone, but if he could get through this... if he could make her leave, then staying away would be really possible for him. "I... I don't want to see you right now."

A lone tear finally escaped. She could feel that there was more to it than leaving his office. Tomoyo sounded so small when she spoke again, "You don't mean that."

He didn't. He wanted to see her every damn day. "Tomoyo..."

"No, no, no." She shook her head vigorously as she clutched the front of his shirt. "Don't do this! Just tell me and we can work it out. You always help me, let me do the same."

"No, I –"

"Please, just tell me the problem." She sounded hopeless. She was struggling to make him let her in. "Whatever it is, tell me. Let me help you this time, please!"

Eriol closed his eyes briefly. She was misunderstanding what was really bothering him. "Stop it." He opened them again and tried to pry away Tomoyo hand.

"I'm not leaving." She held on tighter. "You're always there for me. If it wasn't for you, I would have given up on the idea of Syaoran a long time ago. But you're always with me and supporting us and..."

Eriol froze, not listening to her anymore. He didn't need to hear that. It wasn't about supporting them. He just wanted her happiness and, unfortunately for him, that included a relationship with Syaoran.

"Tomoyo..." He met her eye. "Go."

She choked back a sob. That single word finally hit her. 'No...' It seemed so final to her, and she couldn't accept it. 'No, no.' She wasn't going to let it happen.

He tried to remove her hand again by using more force, but she still wouldn't let go. "Tomoyo." Eriol was already reaching his limit.

'No, no...' She wasn't thinking clearly anymore. All she knew was that Eriol couldn't leave her. She couldn't accept that. 'No...'

"Tomoyo, plea –" His eyes widened when Tomoyo pulled him down and pressed her lips against his. He stopped breathing, his mind trying to comprehend what was happening. He remained still. It was as if he couldn't control his body anymore. His mind was scattered all over the place. However, when a teardrop fell on his chin... 'Wrong.' He knew it was wrong.

Tomoyo suddenly pulled back, having realized what she did. Her watery eyes were filled with dread and shock. "Oh my God..." She let his shirt go. "Oh my God." She was breathing heavily. Panic was written all over her face.

Eriol looked down. Even though he knew himself that it was a mistake, he still didn't want to see how much she regretted it.

"I – I shouldn't have –" Tomoyo brought her trembling hands to her mouth. "I'm sorry. " She couldn't believe... it was just... she couldn't... "I – I..." His refusal to look at her only added to her fear. "I..." This time, she needed no more prompting from Eriol to go.

* * *

AN: You know what to do. Have a Happy New Year everyone! :)


	18. Chapter 18

**Destined**

Author's Note: How's 2011 treating everyone so far? I hope it's all good! :) I'm becoming busy again, hence, the little bit of delay. I'll try to write as much as I can and not disappear. LOL. Just kidding. Once again, thank you everyone!

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

Chapter 18

* * *

"So?" The receptionist of the fifty-fifth floor leaned eagerly as the intern came out of Li Syaoran's office. "How was it?"

She shook her head, taking her seat behind the desk. "He still scares me. I almost dropped the files when I came in. He's just so, so... intimidating. A lot more than the usual."

"I know." The receptionist nodded, glancing back at the closed door at the end of the hall. "I was about to greet him this morning, but one look, damn."

The intern lifted her hand and used it to cradle the side of her face. "But he's so hot. Like, really, really hot."

"You don't have to tell me." The other woman sighed dreamily. "And you know what? His mood today just makes it dangerously hot." The two got lost in their own fantasies. "Have you seen what he's wearing? It's not fair how he's so ridiculously good-looking."

"Oh God, he's in there without his suit jacket, and his shirt just stretched out so deliciously against his broad chest." She licked her suddenly dry lips. "I fantasized about pulling him closer using his tie and –" She giggled. "If my knees weren't shaking so badly, that fantasy would have gone a lot further."

They laughed at their silliness. They were so lucky to have such an eye-candy for a boss. "I wonder what's bothering him this time though." She casted another look at the door. "He seems fine after last week's bad mood."

"Maybe about work?" The intern suggested. "He's just pacing inside. He didn't even look at me when I came in."

"Nah." She shot down the idea. "Mr. Li is never agitated over work. He's always cool and collected about it."

"Personal life then?"

"Highly unlikely. That man can separate his professional and personal life like no one else." The receptionist lowered her voice. "When his girlfriend comes to visit, she doesn't even stay for an hour."

The intern scrunched her forehead. "You're right, he's really private. I'm here three months and I only saw his girlfriend once."

"Huh? She comes here at least once a week."

"I must have missed her then. I only saw her once, but they stayed in his office the entire time. I had to wonder what they were doing in there all locked up." She giggled, letting her imagination run wild. "Oh! Remember when Mr. Li's cousin sneaked past us? I was talking about that day."

The receptionist searched her memory. She didn't remember seeing Ms. Daidouji that day. "I think you're mistaken. The one who came with an appointment? That's not his girlfriend. Miss Daidouji is."

"Ah." The intern nodded, recognizing the name. "That makes more sense. Miss Daidouji is so beautiful and refined. Suitable match for Mr. Li."

"Hey..." The receptionist glanced around, even though she knew there was nobody there. "Did you know that they almost got married?"

"Really?" Her eyes sparkled at the news.

"I don't know what happened though. Or when, for that matter. It was all very hush-hush."

"But if she still comes here, then thus must mean they're okay, right? You think they're preparing another wedding?"

She shrugged. "Probably not. I haven't heard anything from anyone." She was up to date with office gossips. She was always among the first ones to know about something. "But all I know is that Ms. Daidouji is a very, very luck girl to catch that."

Before the intern could agree, her intercom buzzed.

"Did you cancel my 2:30?" Syaoran's abrupt voice came from other line.

"Oh! I-I'm sorry, Mr. Li." The intern was flustered. She got caught up in gossiping that she forgot to cancel his appointment with the marketing team. "I'll get on it right away. I'm sor-"

"Don't cancel it anymore." Syaoran released the button, not waiting to hear the confirmation. He began pacing inside his office again.

Syaoran initially cancelled his meeting because he made reservations for Delights for a half day – take note, only half a day since someone threw a fit when he reserved a jewelry shop for an entire day. However, that certain someone just informed him that she already went there... with another certain someone he didn't want to waste time thinking about.

To say that he was irritated was an understatement. He didn't attend the exclusive opening of that chocolate shop because Sakura made him promise to only go there with her. But that little spitfire went off on her own when things between them turned temporarily sour.

Syaoran's eyes narrowed at his phone that was lying innocently on his desk. Maybe he should have told her that he made that reservation instead of just hanging up. She would definitely be all over it. Dangle the invitation in front of her only to take it back. If Sakura thought that he would take her there after what she did, then she had another thing coming.

"Damn it." He was acting childish. He sounded so immature. He was like a kid throwing a temper tantrum because his parents wouldn't shower him with overflowing attention. Then again, he didn't know how that felt like. Even with the busy schedule, his mother always made time for him. He didn't have any siblings either so there was no need to share the focus. He was a spoiled little shit.

He resumed his pacing, annoyed at how Sakura's attention can shift easily. He used to see that as an advantage before. He used her distractions to get out of things he didn't want to do. However, he realized that he didn't quite like it when she was distracted from him. Only when she was really invested then nothing can divert her.

Was that why he wanted Sakura's attention? Because she wasn't treating him like he was used to? Then again, she was already like that when they first met and he didn't care. He preferred it even. He just didn't know when that changed.

Syaoran growled. He felt like he had done nothing in the past few days – weeks even, but dissect every little interaction. At one point, he thought that maybe he should just stop over-analyzing and let things be, but he quickly squashed that away for fear that he might discover something he wasn't ready for.

Turning back around, he returned to his seat. He didn't want to deal with that matter anymore. Letting out a determined sigh, he reached for the folders that were brought to him. With his guard down, an unbidden thought suddenly forced itself on the forefront of his mind.

Fuck, he was jealous.

* * *

"That's it?" Meiling frowned, placing her cup of coffee down. "You and Syaoran are back to normal?"

"Sure." Sakura shrugged, sitting on her countertop. "But with an additional... how do I say this? It's, like, he's watching his words and I'm watching my actions?" She ended her sentence sounding like a question. She didn't know how to explain it properly. "Considering the other, something like that. But yeah, we're back to normal."

"So," Meiling leaned forward. "You're still being you, flaws and all, but taking into account what the other will feel like? Being more sensitive to each other and all that?"

Sakura scrunched up her nose. Though it was true, Meiling made it sound like it was something more than it really was. "Sure, I guess." She regarded the other girl carefully. "You still haven't talked to him?" She couldn't imagine the cousins being on bad terms for an extended period of time.

"Nope." Syaoran tried to talk to her and she was actually open to it since she just found out that Sakura forgave him, however, when he mentioned that it was about Tomoyo... "Still not talking." Then Meiling's eyes narrowed. "Although I'm starting to think that he's seeing that as a benefit. That son of a bitch – oops, sorry Aunt, I didn't mean it literally."

Sakura just shook her head at her friend. "Why? Are you guys fighting or something?"

"Or something..." She nodded absentmindedly. "Hey, Sakura?

"Yeah?"

"Be honest, what do you think of them?"

She looked back in confusion. "Of who?"

"Syaoran and Tomoyo."

"I, uh..." Whoa. That was a loaded question.

Meiling could see that she was struggling. "I'll tell you my opinion. They're making a mistake. A huge mistake."

She bit her lip. Sakura already knew how Meiling felt. She wasn't exactly subtle about it. Besides, Syaoran already told her that.

"They shouldn't get married," Meiling stated with finality.

"Um..."

"There's no reason to get married."

"They, uh... love each other?" Sakura really didn't know how to respond. She couldn't easily dismiss their feelings like Meiling did.

"Pshaw." She rolled her eyes. "Syaoran loves her, but he's not in love with her."

"Oh..." Sakura's brows furrowed. "There a difference?"

Meiling looked at her like she was from a different planet. "You're supposed to be the romantic here. You should know that."

She shrugged helplessly.

"Yes, there is," Meiling stated patiently. "Syaoran doesn't love her that way. He knows it."

"Really?" Disbelief flooded Sakura's face. It was the first time someone said that to her. She didn't even think about approaching the issue from that angle.

"Yep. Seriously, I'm actually surprised you don't see it."

"But," Sakura pursed her lips. "But Syaoran said..." Syaoran said he loves her. Eriol said he's in love with her. Different times, different places, she asked the same question but they didn't answer her the same way. "... Oh."

"You get it now?"

"Not really," Sakura confessed. But the mere fact that Syaoran and Eriol's admission were different made an impact to her at that moment. Besides, Syaoran was always saying that it was complicated. She had always thought it had something to do with Eriol's feelings. Turns out, it was because of his own, too. That explained a lot of reluctance and uncertainty in his part. "I..." Sakura didn't know how to react. She was still coming to terms with the fact that Syaoran wasn't – "Why?" She asked quietly. "Why get married?"

This time, Meiling paused. She met Sakura's eyes for a few seconds before shaking her head.

Sakura let it drop. She respected the boundary.

"So how are things with you and Yukito?" Meiling asked after awhile.

"Good. It's... good." She chided herself mentally, 'Wow, way to sound enthusiastic, Sakura.' Unfortunately, Meiling also caught it.

"It's good?"

She sighed. "Yeah." Then like an afterthought, she shook her head quickly. "I mean it's great. Really great."

Meiling smirked teasingly. "So what now, do you love him or are you in love with him?"

Sakura just blushed and mumbled, "We're still kind of new."

"Oh, well. There's no rush." She grinned. "Just enjoy the sparks."

Sakura bit her tongue to keep herself from blurting something stupid like, 'They're real?' Truth be told, she still wasn't feeling it with Yukito. She told herself that it would come as time passed, but no. Still nothing. She actually chalked the lack of it to the notion that she was just expecting too much. Like Meiling said, she was a romantic. Maybe she was simply looking for something non-existent. Besides, the clusterfuck that was Syaoran-Tomoyo-Eriol relationship dampened her beliefs a little. But damn, it existed after all. "The sparks," Sakura muttered. "Yeah."

Meiling arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow. "You feel it, right?"

"Of course." She looked away when Meiling stared at her intently. She wasn't ready to admit that it wasn't there with Yukito. 'It's just late,' Sakura reasoned. Got lost. Got stuck in traffic. Whatever.

"Uh-huh." Meiling nodded slowly.

Not wanting to be called out, Sakura continued, "It's like there's this flow of energy between you two. It's there every time you see him, every time you talk to him, every time you touch him." Her eyes held a faraway look as she tried to put it into words. "There's a bond that connects you that is too strong to deny."

Meiling shifted attentively as she studied the other girl.

A small smile graced Sakura's feature. "Your skin tingles and your pulse race when he's near. When you look at him, it's like your heart will just jump out of your chest. And when he's not there, it's like you can't breathe, it's hard to –"

"Alright, I believe you," Meiling cut her off, almost disappointed. She wasn't expecting Sakura to feel it with Yukito. "It's there, huh?"

"Of course." She nodded, relieved that the other girl accepted her words. It wasn't a total lie anyway. She remembered feeling the course of electricity the first time she came in contact with Syaoran inside that church. It didn't matter that they were extremely pissed off at each other; it was there. It still was, actually, but Sakura learned to brush it off as another thing to add to their weirdness. Who knew that romanticizing it would get her out of her friend's scrutiny?

"Well damn," Meiling grumbled under her breath.

"Say," Sakura cleared her throat. "What if you didn't feel it with Ryu?"

"Simple. He'll be my ex-boyfriend."

Sakura's eyes widened. "That's it? You'll just break it off with him?"

Meiling shrugged.

"But, but what if he's really good to you?" She insisted. "What if he treats you so nicely?"

"I'm not that cold-hearted. Of course I'll give it a chance." She sighed. "But since we're being honest and all, I'll tell you now that it certainly won't last."

Sakura leaned forward unconsciously. "Why not?"

"It's not that I don't like nice and safe. I just want more than that. I want excitement. I don't mean that literally. It's just how he makes me feel. If he can't..." Meiling frowned at the thought. "Seriously, no fire? No passion?" Her tone was turning sour. "You're a very passionate girl. I'm sure you understand."

And she did. Even without Meiling telling her, she was already realizing that fact. Sakura remained quiet, not wanting to continue the conversation anymore.

* * *

Syaoran flipped to the next page of the book he was reading. He wasn't even done with the first paragraph when he heard a click from his main door.

Suddenly on alert, he turned off his lamp light. Wearing only a pair of boxers and a thin undershirt, Syaoran crept silently out of his bedroom. The hallway was dark but he knew his way perfectly. Pausing at the corner, he couldn't help but wonder who was stupid enough to try and rob his place. He didn't even need a weapon to defend himself. He was trained in combat. Speaking of, where the hell was his security?

A snort almost escaped Syaoran when the idiot started stumbling and bumping. 'Pathetic.' Within seconds, he was able to tackle the man by coming from behind. The intruder grunted, falling flat on his face. Syaoran almost fell on top of him, miscalculating and overexerting force, but he managed to catch himself on time. Quickly, he turned the struggling man on his back. He dug his knee on the intruder's stomach and shoved him down by holding his left shoulder and right wrist.

Syaoran scoffed at the man's attempt to be free. He was groaning and trashing. Things happened fast and the he didn't even stand a chance. Syaoran let go of the man's shoulder and gripped his chest to better hold him down. At the contact, they both froze.

"What... the fuck?" It took a delayed second before Syaoran snatched his hand back.

"O-ow, l-le..."

He didn't need to hear the feminine moan to confirm his prior realization. "What the fuck?" He repeated, reaching for his customized remote at the end table. He pressed the button to open the lights. "Kitten?"

Sakura rolled to her side and clutched her stomach, gasping.

"Oh shit!" He kneeled by her side. "Kitten, are you okay? Why didn't you say something?"

She shot him the most evil glare she could manage at the moment. Say something? She couldn't even breathe! Syaoran's knee was cutting off her air supply.

Syaoran winced when he came to the same conclusion. "Come on." He brushed the strands of hair away from her face as he helped her lay on her back.

"Oh... God..." Sakura rasped, trying to compose herself. Her lungs felt like it was burning. Thankfully, after some time, she was able to breathe normally again. "Freaking hell." She accepted his help to sit up. That was brutal.

"This is going to bruise," Syaoran murmured, rubbing her inner wrist with his thumb.

"Along with the rest of my body," Sakura grumbled.

"Er yeah, about that..." He looked away awkwardly while she blushed. "Didn't mean to." Syaoran sighed before continuing. "I wasn't expecting you to be here." It was the first time Sakura stepped foot in his condo ever since his blow up.

She turned somber. "Yeah, it's just..."

He then noticed that Sakura's eyes were rimmed red. She looked like she had been crying. "Fuck, what's wrong? Where does it hurt?"

"No, no." Sakura shook her head. "I'm fine. I just didn't want to go home yet." She didn't want to be alone. She could stay with her other friends, but it was obvious that something was wrong and they would want to know about it so they could comfort her better. Aside from thinking that she didn't deserve that, she also wasn't ready. Syaoran was the only person she could think of who would be there but would let her be. "Can I stay here for a while?" She nodded at the direction of the couch.

Syaoran gave her a long look before nodding. "Sure." He knew she needed a little more time to open up. "You left a book here from before. Want me to get it?"

She smiled at him in appreciation. "Thanks."

He checked on her, making sure she was okay, before going back to his bedroom to retrieve the book he was reading earlier. He took it from his nightstand, turned around and stopped short when he saw Sakura standing outside his door.

She took a cursory glance, never having seen his bedroom before. Nothing seemed to register, however, as she continued to shift her weight back and forth.

Syaoran sat on his platform bed and leaned back against the headboard. He patted the space next to him as an invitation. It only took a second of hesitation before Sakura, still clad in jeans and shirt, went inside and mirrored his position. Without a word, he gave her the book.

Sakura accepted and thumbed the edges. She noticed that her bookmark was still on the same place and Syaoran added his own to mark his page.

Syaoran closed his eyes. A glance on the clock told him that it was almost midnight. He had a long day and he was starting to feel sleepy.

"I broke up with Yukito."

That jolted him awake. "What?"

"We met up earlier and I... broke things up with him."

'Well, thanks a lot for nothing.' Syaoran grimaced as he thought about the mental torture he suffered the previous day in his office. He opened his mouth to speak... but realized that he didn't know what to say. Geez, he was a guy. He didn't do this kind of stuff. He wouldn't even know where to begin. And besides, was he supposed to comfort her over the loss of another man? Yeah, right. Not in this lifetime. Nor the next.

"Am I a horrible person?"

"Depends."

Sakura turned to him sharply. She was beginning to rethink her decision, which she didn't thoroughly think about in the first place, to come here. Syaoran sure sucked at this.

"I mean, you're a horrible driver. You sometimes drive without checking the mirrors. Most of the time, you don't even give signals." Syaoran frowned. "And you're a horrible cook when it comes to steamed dishes. You're great at everything else. How can you ruin something steamed? You're a horrible drinker, too. You talk too much. Not that you don't when you're not drunk – ouch!" He rubbed his arm. "And see? That's another thing. You always hit me."

"So you find me horrible?"

Syaoran rolled his eyes. Absolutely not. "Maybe."

'I knew it.' Sakura looked down. She knew and Syaoran just confirmed it. He wouldn't lie to her about it.

"I was kidding." He began to panic at her crestfallen look. "It was a joke."

"No, it's okay."

"No seriously, it was a joke." Syaoran cursed himself. That was a bad move on his part. Sakura was already having a hard time. "Come on, look at me."

"I really rather not."

"Hey." He nudged her, but she didn't respond. "I swear..." He trailed off, sighing. Reaching out, he loosely wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her to him. Her head rested perfectly on his shoulder. "No, I do not find you horrible. I was just kidding."

"Then that's horrible of you," Sakura mumbled. "And you know, you're the horrible driver. You don't the follow rules. You always drive above the speed limit." She straightened, regaining a bit of her fire. "And you're the horrible cook. You only know the basics. How would you survive in the long run? And how dare you say I hit you all the time? You were the one who mauled me earlier. I even have bruises to prove it!" She paused. "Wait, why am I insulting you again?" It was just like them to get off-topic. She slumped back, her body automatically returning to Syaoran's side.

"Because I deserved it." He shrugged. "And it started because you asked that stupid question."

"Oh." Sakura bit her lip. "But it's true though. I'm horrible because I caused pain to someone as wonderful as Yukito."

In a low voice, he simply asked. "Why did you do it then?"

"Because..." She faltered. Her next words seemed over the top, but she knew that it held nothing but the truth. "He's not the one."

Syaoran didn't react and she was grateful for that.

"He asked for another chance, you know?" Her voice got quieter. "He wanted to try again. And I just... I wanted to say yes just so he won't look so sad anymore." She hugged her knees to her chest, curling to his side. "For one brief moment, I almost did. Maybe if I stayed with him longer, maybe if we spent more time together. The maybe's, the what if's." She sounded almost frustrated.

Syaoran gently stroked the side of her head. He honestly didn't know what to say or what to do or even what to think. He just let her get it off her chest.

"I've been trying. From the start, I've already been trying to feel more." She recalled the doubts that she kept pushing away before. "But I know myself," Sakura continued. "I know that no matter how hard or how long I tried, it wouldn't change anything." She sighed in defeat. "I can't force myself to feel what isn't there."

"Nobody could," Syaoran murmured, closing his eyes and tiredly laying his head on top of hers.

"Yeah." She glanced up, her forehead briefly touching his cheek, before she looked down again. "Maybe I'm just saying this to make myself feel better about the situation, but I'm also thinking that I don't want him to miss the chance of meeting the person who's right for him just because he's with me." Her fingers traced the edges of the sheet before she gripped it in her hand. "I just hate that I hurt him. He's always smiling, you know? And then I put that sad look on his face. I'm responsible for that."

"It's not like you intended to do that. You didn't like what happened either."

Sakura got lost in her thoughts, replaying the events that occurred earlier. She was sad about it. She was hurt, too. She felt bad that she had to end it, however, even if she was carrying this awful and unpleasant feeling inside of her, in the end, she knew she did the right thing.

The silence that lingered between them was broken by Sakura's squeak of surprise when her head hit the pillow. She wasn't even aware that they were sliding down.

Syaoran rubbed his eyes before lying properly on his back. Sakura situated herself on the other side of the bed, creating distance between them. She faced him and tucked her hand underneath her chin. "Aren't you going to rub it in my face that you're right?"

He tilted his head in her direction. "Hmm?"

"You know, about it not working out then I have to see him every day." She closed her eyes. "I don't have the slightest clue about how I'm going to handle that."

"You'll figure it out."

* * *

Syaoran was woken up with an annoying tune blaring out from somewhere. What was that? He didn't set his alarm for this morning.

"Mmm..." Sakura's hand shot out, hitting him squarely on the chest. "... where..."

He grunted when Sakura hit him again. "Kitten." He forced one eye open and saw her lying on her side, searching blindly for her phone. "Turn that thing off," Syaoran demanded with a gruff voice. He unceremoniously grabbed the pillow from under her head and tossed it away.

Sakura growled but refused to move. She was supposed to hit the snooze button at least five times. It was still her snooze time. She rasped, "You get it."

Thankfully, the sound stopped at that moment. Syaoran felt like he just closed his eyes for a second when it started again. He muttered unintelligible curses under his breath before leaning up using his elbows. Where was that coming from? He surveyed the room with narrowed eyes until it landed on Sakura's bag near his bedroom door.

"Syaoran," Sakura whined and kicked him lightly on the leg to get him moving.

With another curse, he stood up. He snatched her bag, grabbed the phone and pressed a random button to silence it. Syaoran threw the phone back on the bed before following himself. Sakura took his short absence as a chance to steal his pillow. Since she had no intention of letting go, Syaoran had no other choice but to use the one he tossed away. Lying back on it, Sakura's scent immediately assaulted his senses and that lulled him back to sleep.

Sakura was brought back to consciousness some time later. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and blinked blearily at the numbers staring back at her. With a start, she realized that it was the time. "What –" She sat up and threw the covers back. "How's that –" She forcefully shook herself awake. That couldn't be the time!

"... the hell..." Syaoran grunted when an expected weight settled on top of his body. He saw Sakura lying across him and frantically digging through her bag, which he carelessly left on the floor next to his side of the bed. "G-ret ff." He patted the bed with one hand while the other tried to remove her. "Here." Syaoran turned on his stomach and buried his head under the pillow.

"Oh no! Oh no!" Sakura gasped. "I can't be late!"

"You already are," Syaoran replied sarcastically, his voice muffled.

"How could this happen?"

"Kitten." He inhaled deeply before removing the pillow. "Either you go back to sleep or get the hell out."

She ignored him. "Why, oh why? Why didn't I wake up? Why didn't you wake me up – oof!" Her breath got caught when Syaoran took her by the shoulders and pinned her down.

"Stop." He hovered over her. "Stop, okay? It's too early in the morning for this shit."

"It's not early! It's quarter past nine!"

"Stop." Syaoran covered her mouth with his hand. "No matter how impossible it's going to be, I still plan on going back to sleep. So stop."

Sakura stopped wriggling. Truth be told, she wasn't panicking over being late. It was only part of the reason, but she was panicking mostly because she wasn't panicking over the fact that she woke up next to him. Damn, her logic was still a bit muddy inside her sleepy head.

He shot her a warning look before releasing her and settling in to a more comfortable position. "Use the bathroom or whatever. Just make sure to lock the door on your way out." Christ. Only Sakura would require this much of his attention within seconds of waking up.

"God, you're horrible in bed!" She retorted instead, adding to the list from last night.

He snorted. "Unless you were molesting me in my sleep, I'm pretty sure I didn't touch you."

Sakura immediately stood up, blushing fiery red. "That's not what I meant! I mean you keep hogging all the cover."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Syaoran peeked and watched as she comically tiptoe around while trying to move quietly to the bathroom. Keyword being try. She wasn't quite successful.

Oh well. As long as it was Sakura, he wouldn't mind waking up like this every day.

Whoa, whoa, whoa – hold that thought!

What.

The.

Fuck.

Waking up with her every day? What the hell? Where did that come from?

Oh, no. Syaoran shook his head repeatedly. No, no, no. That was too far – farther than the distance from the earth to the moon and then back. It was that far. That was just – it was the lack of sleep! He decided with determination. It was the lack of sleep that was responsible for making him have thoughts like that. Seriously. He chuckled anxiously. Yep. He wasn't in his right frame of mind at the moment.

"Syaoran..."

He was startled when a gentle hand tapped him on the shoulder. He looked up and saw Sakura with her hair brushed back. Her breath was minty fresh.

"Thank you." She bit her lip and looked at him almost shyly. "You know... for last night."

"Uh..."

"Um, yeah, thanks." Sakura wriggled her hands together. "And I'm sorry, too. For waking you up and acting like that this morning, sorry."

"Uh..."

She stood there awkwardly. Syaoran wasn't saying anything so she took that as her sign to leave. "So, um, I'll go now. Yeah. Bye."

With the sound of the door closing, Syaoran groaned before promptly smacking his head against the pillow.

* * *

AN: The content of one chapter was supposed to be this one and the next, but I miscalculated the length so I had to separate them. I'll try to update soon. Next chapter is more than halfway done since I wrote it before this one. I just need to find time to write the remaining parts. :) Review, review!


	19. Chapter 19

**Destined**

Author's Note: So I was supposed to upload this the other day (I was logged in and all), but I got distracted by... well, other websites. I went to bed after, not realizing that I didn't post it. I just remembered it now. Silly me. LOL. Anyway, thank you so much for reading and for sharing your thoughts with me. I'm really glad that you still adore the story. :) Not gonna delay anymore... here's what should have been the second half of the last chapter. Enjoy! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

Chapter 19

* * *

Perfect hair. Perfect make-up. Perfect dress. Perfect shoes.

Tomoyo changed her expression.

Even her smile looked perfect. She almost believed it.

"Oh. You look beautiful," Sakura complimented upon entering Tomoyo's walk in closet. It could easily be considered as another room due to its size.

"Thank you." Tomoyo turned away from her full-length mirror. Sakura was here tonight because they made this plan to get ready for the opening gala together several days ago. "So do you." She glanced at the wall clock. "Syaoran should be here any minute."

Suddenly, the feeling of guilt struck Sakura as her mind strayed to the other night. She tried to shake it off. It was an innocent and unplanned sleepover. She knew that, yet it still weighed down on her.

"Are you okay?" Tomoyo asked. Sakura's sudden uneasiness effectively triggered her own. The atmosphere became tense and the incident that she was too busy pretending didn't happen was crawling to the surface. She didn't have a strong hold on it to begin with.

"Um, yeah." Sakura tried to smile but she was still caught up in her head. Maybe she shouldn't have stayed? Or at the very least, stayed in one of his guest bedrooms? But she didn't even know when she fell asleep. They were just talking and the next minute, she was sleeping.

Tomoyo bit the inside of her cheek. "Are you sure?" The silence was making her extremely uncomfortable. She was right on the edge.

"Huh? Oh yeah." She nodded, still distracted. If it was just between her and Syaoran, she wouldn't even try and rationalize that night. Lots of things between them just happened with no logical reason. She accepted that long ago. Explaining was just futile.

"I kissed Eriol."

Sakura looked up abruptly and Tomoyo's shocked face mirrored her own. She obviously didn't mean to say that.

"W-what?"

"I, I..." Tomoyo closed her eyes. There was no use pretending anymore. The truth was already out. In a small voice, she repeated, "I kissed Eriol." She took a deep breath, realizing that she needed to get this out. "I didn't mean to, I swear." Before she knew it, words were tumbling out of her mouth. "I would never hurt anyone like that. It just happened. He was... he was – I just wanted to stop him and I wasn't thinking and my emotions were all over and I, God... it was stupid of me. What should I do?"

Sakura's first thought was that Syaoran should know. It was because of her loyalty and the fact that he deserved to know. There was honestly no malicious intent on her part, but she couldn't help but doubt herself because of the guilty feeling earlier.

Thankfully, Tomoyo was on the same page with her. "I should tell Syaoran." She would be honest with him first before trying to talk to Eriol about it.

The Daidouji's family butler chose that moment to come and announce Syaoran's arrival. He was already waiting downstairs.

Tomoyo composed herself before walking out. Sakura managed to shoot her a genuine encouraging smile and the other girl mouthed a thank you. She needed that.

Sakura smiled slightly at Syaoran when she saw him but offered no small talks. On the ride over, she sat quietly on the backseat. Every now and then, Syaoran's eyes would meet hers through the rearview mirror. At one point, he raised an eyebrow at her but she just shook her head in return, silently answering him that she was okay. Her thoughts kept drifting to Tomoyo's confession. What would that kiss mean to Tomoyo and Syaoran? To Tomoyo and Eriol?

'Eriol.' She sighed. Tomoyo wasn't really clear about what happened that led to that. Sakura could only hope that he was fine in the aftermath.

Sooner than she wanted, they arrived and Sakura found herself inside their little private box. Syaoran took the seat next to her and Tomoyo was on his other side.

Ten minutes in, Syaoran was already bored out of his mind. The women were quiet, too. Oblivious to what they were thinking, he concluded that they simply weren't looking forward to this either. He glanced at Sakura, who wasn't even paying attention to what was happening on stage. Leaning closer, he whispered, "Don't fall asleep. It'll be embarrassing."

She instantly blushed at the mention of sleep, her mind taking her back to that night again. "N-no, of course not," Sakura stammered.

"It's okay." He discreetly hid a yawn behind his hand. He wouldn't blame her if she failed to find it entertaining. "It's fucking boring."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Sakura looked straight. "Be quiet. I'm watching."

Syaoran snorted. "Oh yeah? What's the name of the female lead?"

She gave him a quick glare before looking at the stage again. "Don't disturb me. I'm perfectly enjoying this classic art." She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Internally."

He rolled his eyes at her but backed off nonetheless. He needed to keep himself awake through other ways. After what felt like an entire century with an additional two decades, the intermission came. Sakura quickly excused herself and disappeared to the direction of the ladies' room.

Syaoran and Tomoyo, with drinks in hand, mingled with other attendees. It didn't last long, however, since she couldn't keep it anymore. She led Syaoran to a more private part of the building.

"I need to tell you something."

Syaoran became worried at the obvious distress on Tomoyo's face. "What's wrong? Is everything okay?"

She opened her mouth but nothing came out. Steeling herself, she tried again. "I just... I know this is definitely not the right time or place, but I have to, I mean..." She shook her head. "Please, don't be upset. It just happened –"

"Hey," Syaoran cut her off softly. "What is it?"

"It wasn't intentional." She continued to ramble, "And I can explain later, but I really need to tell you now. I know I already said that my timing is horrible, but I couldn't think about anything else and –"

"Tomoyo, what's wrong?"

There was no other way to phrase it. "I kissed Eriol."

Syaoran stood silent for a moment, and then... nothing. Absolutely nothing. He instantly looked away and Tomoyo misinterpreted his gesture.

"Please, Syaoran..." She pleaded, touching his arm. "Let me explain. You have every right to be angry, but please."

But that was just it. He didn't feel anything. No pain. Not even betrayal.

Had he really reached this point? Syaoran knew this was bad. It was only recently that he became unwillingly acquainted with the feelings of jealousy, but at this moment, that familiar feeling wasn't even present in the slightest. This was really bad.

"Tomoyo –" His response was interrupted by the announcement that the show was about to resume shortly. Though it wasn't proper etiquette to leave, they couldn't find it in themselves to stay any longer.

"What's going on?" Sakura asked worriedly when she met up with them near the entrance. "Why are we leaving?"

Syaoran didn't respond. He didn't know how to. Tomoyo was forced to step away for a few minutes to say thank you to the people who gave her the tickets.

Sakura shifted her weight awkwardly. It quickly became clear to her as to why they were leaving early. "Um... I guess I have to tell Meiling not to come anymore."

He was surprised. "She's coming?"

"I asked her to," Sakura admitted. She wanted to give Syaoran and Meiling the opportunity to talk. So when she learned that Syaoran attempted to invite Meiling for tonight, she continued the job behind his back, not knowing that he only did it because Tomoyo expressed that intent before.

After sending a quick message, they spent the next few minutes silently standing side by side in the lobby.

"You're quiet."

"I just... I don't have anything to say," Sakura finished lamely.

He couldn't help but snort. "Since when did you run out of things to say?" He regarded her for a moment, mistakenly concluding that she was still upset over her break up with Yukito. Not wanting her to dwell on it, he talked lightly, "Let me guess, you're probably disappointed we're skipping dinner?"

She glared at him. How dare he make a jab at her eating habits? "I don't think that's the case." Her eyes narrowed. Syaoran wasn't vain but he made sure that his body was taken care of. "I actually think that it's good for you." She poked him in the stomach. "See, you're getting a little soft there. My finger is disappearing –"

He slapped her hand away. "Funny." Syaoran tilted his head to the side. "But now that you mention soft, I think you're arms are getting a bit... flabby." He ended his statement with an innocent smile.

Sakura gasped, hugging her bare arms to her chest. "How dare you! They are not!"

"You should put more time in the gym to tone it." Syaoran continued to bait her, "But I don't know about the face. You're cheeks are becoming rounded. Aren't you supposed to lose –"

She grabbed his wrist, digging her nails to the exposed part of his skin. "You're going to pay for those remarks. Just wait until we're alone and –"

"Ooh, that sounds – ouch, okay, okay. Let go."

She squeezed harder before letting go. "I'm going to find Tomoyo." She huffed before walking away.

Syaoran rubbed his wrist while looking at her indignant form. At least she wasn't acting depressed anymore.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Eriol was about to enter the theater again when he saw Tomoyo standing a few feet away from him. His breath caught at the sight of her. He wasn't expecting to see her here. She wasn't a fan of these shows. In fact, among them, he was the only one who truly appreciated this type of performance.

His thoughts were shaken away when he noticed that she looked miserable and lost even though she was surrounded by a group of people. She was nodding and smiling politely, but it was obvious to those who knew her that her heart and mind weren't in it.

His need to remove that unhappy look on Tomoyo's face was instinctive. She seemed so small that he just wanted to go and comfort her regardless of what happened. However, the wall he was trying to build stopped him in time from making an irrational move. It made him think of the consequences, which might worsen things between them. Neither of them was emotionally ready to talk to each other.

With one final look, Eriol decided to leave. He was trying to get out of the building as quick as possible that he almost missed Syaoran standing alone in the lobby.

Syaoran was still looking at the direction Sakura disappeared off to. There was an amused smile on his face when he saw the nail marks on his skin. She sure wasn't holding back awhile ago.

Eriol suddenly saw red. His already unsteady state fueled his anger. How could Syaoran just stand there and smile while Tomoyo was obviously troubled? How could he look so carefree while she was trying her best to hold herself together?

Before Eriol knew what was happening, he was already marching towards Syaoran. He turned him strongly using his shoulder before delivering a punch straight to his jaw.

Few people who were hanging around the lobby gasped.

"The fuck..." Syaoran raised his hand and saw blood. His teeth managed to cut the side of his lip. He glared menacingly at the fucker who hit him, only to be taken aback when he saw who it was. "What the hell?"

Emotions that Eriol was trying to suppress were making themselves known. "You asshole!" He shoved him hard.

"What the hell is your problem?"

He shoved again. "My problem is that you're a fucking asshole!"

Syaoran was getting pissed. "Don't push me." He shoved back roughly. "I'm letting that hit go once but if you ever fucking try to do that shit again, I won't hold back."

The atmosphere was harsh as both men assessed the situation. Before either of them decided that they didn't give a fuck, two security personnel arrived on the scene.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Meiling was rushing inside. She already missed the entire first half. Then again, it didn't matter. She was not here to watch. She just decided that it was time to make peace and accepting the invitation was her way of showing it.

A commotion on the side caught the corner of her eye. Who the hell was foolish enough to fight in a place like this? That behavior was shamefully unacceptable! 'Losers.' She snickered to herself. Who was she to talk about manners? She was the one who was so late. Dismissing the incident, Meiling dug through her purse for her ticket. She was looking for directions for her designated seat entrance when they passed by her.

Her mouth promptly dropped open. "Whoa, whoa, hold up." She tore through them. "What is going on here?"

Nobody paid her any attention. Syaoran and Eriol were too busy glaring at each other while security tried to restrain them.

Meiling wasn't the type to back down. She continued to force her way in and demand answers until she ended up being escorted to a small room with them. "What the –" She blinked, bewildered. Shaking herself out of it, she turned to her friends, who she unknowingly dubbed as losers not long ago. "Seriously guys, calm the fuck down." She tried to talk to them but she was getting nowhere.

Having no other option, Meiling handled it from there. She assured the security team that there was no problem and no investigation was necessary. Her persuasive personality, combined with their status in society, convinced them to overlook the incident. In spite of this, they still needed to stay inside the room while the situation outside was being diffused.

Meiling stood with her arms cross in front of her chest. Syaoran and Eriol were sitting on the opposite side of the room. "So...?" She leveled them with a look, but once again, she was ignored. She was starting to get irritated. After helping them out, they were going to treat her this way?

The door burst open and Sakura walked in with Tomoyo in tow. "Oh no, what happened?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out," Meiling gritted out.

Tomoyo froze. She was utterly shocked. Syaoran and Eriol never engaged in a physical fight with each other. Ever. Not even when they were kids. Her mind was going a mile a minute, trying to figure it out. What the hell happened to them?

"I was on my way in when I saw them," Meiling explained in a low voice. "I never thought..." She trailed off, letting out an aggravated sound.

"Didn't you get my message?" Sakura asked. "We were about to leave."

Meiling checked her phone and saw the unread text. "It was on vibrate." She muttered, "Too late now."

"We couldn't find Syaoran but one of the guards recognized Tomoyo and told us you were here," Sakura relayed to Meiling quietly. "So you don't know why?" She gestured to them.

"No." Meiling sighed. "They won't talk."

Sakura glanced around again. Eriol was burning a hole through the wall while Syaoran was trying to ice the side of his face. She fidgeted on her spot, busying her hand by wrinkling the side of her dress. At his third hiss, however, she couldn't take it anymore. She walked towards Syaoran and held out her hand. "You're pathetic."

He gave her the evil eye before giving the pack of ice. "Thanks for asking how I'm doing."

"Yeah, well, you're doing it wrong."

"So you're the expert in this area now?" He winced from the pressure and the cold when Sakura placed the ice back on his face.

"No. It was just painstakingly obvious that you were missing the spot. Like I said, pathetic." She moved a little and wiped the dried blood with her thumb. "Does it hurt?" She murmured.

"Don't worry, kitten. You punch much stronger." He raised his wrist. "In fact, if you clawed me a second longer, I'm pretty sure I would have bled more."

"Don't tempt me to give you a black eye to match that swollen lip."

Meiling didn't know whether to be amused or annoyed. She couldn't quite hear what Sakura and Syaoran were talking about, but it was obvious that they got lost again. They sure didn't choose the time and place. Unfortunately, Tomoyo chose that moment to snap out of her daze, and her eyes widened with what she saw.

She gasped, becoming paler as seconds passed. She met Eriol's eyes. He wasn't paying attention to what was happening on the other side of the room. He was too busy looking worriedly at her. Tomoyo averted her sight quickly and gazed pleadingly at Meiling.

Meiling was effectively caught off guard. It took everything in her not to look down when she realized that this was it. She detested that she was going to be the one who would confirm the fear in Tomoyo's eyes. There was no use trying to hide it from her anyway. She saw it herself. It couldn't be denied.

A small nod from Meiling was all it took for her breath to be knocked out from her. Tomoyo took a step back and the action caused Sakura and Syaoran to look. Sakura dropped her hand while Syaoran stood up.

"No..." She blinked quickly. "This – this isn't right." She began breathing heavily. This wasn't supposed to be.

"Tomoyo –"

Tomoyo turned around and fled the room, ignoring the voices calling after her.

Eriol stood up, about to follow her, but Syaoran stopped him. He was ready to argue but Syaoran stood his ground. This was long overdue. "Stay. I mean it."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Tomoyo!" Syaoran was sure he rounded the block twice now. Where could she be? She couldn't have gotten that far. A few minutes more and he found himself standing on a more secluded part of the neighborhood. Syaoran was about to go back when he heard quiet sniffles. He turned around the corner and saw her sitting on a stone bench. The lone lamp beside her flickered at random intervals. It was struggling to keep its light. "Tomoyo?"

She tensed, indicating that she heard him. "Go away."

"Tomoyo..."

She looked up, her eyes glistening. "W-why?" It was one word yet it held so many meanings. "Why couldn't it have been me?" Her voice cracked at the end.

Syaoran clenched his fist. He knew what she was talking about. Tomoyo saw what he spent days thinking over. She saw what was there all along. It only took that one moment for her to realize what Syaoran should have long ago.

Her chin trembled. "Why, Syaoran?"

"I..." He was suddenly at a loss on what to say, but at the same time, he knew the words he needed. And so for the first time in his life, Syaoran uttered the words out loud, "I'm sorry."

And for the time ever, Tomoyo shed her tears in front of him.

He wanted to reach out but his touch seemed to burn her. Everything she had been trying to hold back was now pouring out of her through her tears.

It was such simple question, but no answer could make her feel better. Nothing could make the pain go away.

"Tomoyo..."

"It hurts." She whimpered. "I feel like I'm dying." And she was. Inside.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

She tried her best to get the words together. "I w-was happy." She hugged herself unsteadily. "At the day of our wedding, I woke up feeling that it was the happiest moment of my life. I thought my d-dream was coming true." She hunched more, closing into herself. "When you proposed, I was happy again. So, so happy." That memory seemed so far away now. It didn't even seem real. "I thought to myself..." She began shaking. "I thought... this is it, Tomoyo. The man you love is finally –" Sobs wracked her frame. "I – I w-was so ready to spend the rest of my life with you."

Syaoran closed his eyes tightly. He was hurting the woman he loved dearly. No matter how he tried to avoid it, he still ended up in this fucking place.

"I love you, Syaoran." She had done nothing but love him. "But it's not enough." Tomoyo crumpled. She loved him. She was willing to accept the parts he could give. She was willing to wait until he could give it his all. She loved him that much that she was willing to do it for him. "But It'll never be enough."

Tomoyo was far from perfect. She tried to be but it was impossible because underneath it all lived a very insecure little girl. No matter how she looked, no matter how she acted, she was still the same girl chasing after the man she wanted.

"I'm sorry." Syaoran kneeled down next to her. A tear escaped from his eye. He fucking hated this. His apology wasn't going to change anything, but it was all he could do. "I'm sorry." For not telling her sooner. For letting it go as long as it did. For breaking it up.

For not being able to love her.

"I'm so fucking sorry."

Tomoyo continued to cry. The tears wouldn't stop coming. 'Make it stop...' She wanted to be numb. She didn't want to feel anything. 'S-stop... please...'

Syaoran could only watch helplessly as the pain consumed her. Seeing her like that was more than enough to hurt him. "Tomoyo..." He was angry at himself. He did this to her. More tears gathered at the corner of his eyes when he finally realized the damage he did to her.

He made her this way. His constant rejection affected her. Even when they were engaged, he couldn't let her in. She knew that. She felt that. But still, Tomoyo tried so hard. She tried and tried until she lost herself. Until she broke down. Until she felt like she needed to earn approval just to be accepted. Her need for validation started to define her.

How could Tomoyo forgive him when he wasn't even sure if he could forgive himself?

"I would have been happy..." She stated with uneven breaths. "If – if we got married that day, I would have been happy." The words were broken. The words were honest. "But..." The words got stuck in her throat. "But when... when I saw the way you were looking at her. You looked at her like there was no one else." She shook her head. It was so hard. She felt like she was suffocating. "I – I wanted to be on the receiving end of that look for so long." She almost whispered the words. "I kept wishing, hoping that someday... someday, you would look at me like that."

Tomoyo felt so damn vulnerable. She was bared open at this moment and there was nothing she could do to protect herself.

"I almost thought it wasn't going to happen, but... B-but... I saw it. And it wasn't for me." More tears fell. "You gave it to her so easily, unconsciously. Like there was no other way to look at her."

Syaoran gripped the ends of his hair. Her pain was too much.

"It wasn't for me. N-never for me." She sobbed harder, burying her face in her hands. "And it..." She choked on the next words, "It absolutely breaks my heart."

Syaoran tried to touch her again, but she flinched away. When her cries started to become uncontrollable, he ignored her protest and crushed her to him. Syaoran hugged her tightly, offering no more words there was nothing he could say to make it disappear.

"W-why?" With the little strength she had left, she started beating on his chest. "Why?" Desperately. "Why!"

Syaoran took it all. He sat there, not stopping her. The fight eventually left her and she fell weakly back into his arms again. They didn't know how long she cried, how long he held her. Time wasn't important.

Everything Tomoyo wished for, everything Syaoran himself thought he wasn't capable of... it was given to Sakura. Unconditionally.

She couldn't blame Syaoran. He tried. Goddamn, he tried.

She couldn't blame Sakura. She did nothing. It wasn't her fault.

Tomoyo cried into her hands. Who was she if not the woman who loved Syaoran? She had always, always wanted to be with him. It was what she wished for. How could she move on from that? Being with him was something she believed in all her life. She loved him too damn much that it spiraled out of her control.

With great difficulty, she extracted herself from his arms. "S-Syaoran." She tried to look at him, but her vision was so blurry with tears that she couldn't even focus. She lifted her hand and caressed his face. His tears were already dried. "I love you, Syaoran." She took back her trembling hand, never taking her eyes away from him. Her movement was unsteady and her breathing was erratic.

"Tomoyo." His eyes widened when he felt her put something small and cold into his hand. "What are you..." Syaoran fisted his hand, feeling the solid object digging inside his palm. He didn't need to look to know what it was.

She gazed at him, not hiding anything. She felt so raw. "It's not mine." The ring. His heart. "It doesn't belong to me."

His heart ached along with hers. Her action signified the end of them.

"Can you –" Tomoyo swallowed shakily. "Can you do me a favor?" At his nod, she continued. "Just one last time, I want to hear it. Can you tell me you love me? One last time."

Syaoran took her face gently into his hands. He met her eyes and tried to convey everything he was feeling. "I love you, Tomoyo." But it wasn't enough for them. It would never be. "I love you." It didn't change anything and it didn't take away the pain.

"Thank you." Tomoyo closed her eyes, letting his words wash over her. She heard them for what it was, for what it would ever be. "Can you do me another?" She opened her eyes again. "Can you stand and walk away from me?"

"What? No." Syaoran refused. There was no way he was leaving her here alone.

"Please."

He stood up but he held out his hand to her. "We'll leave together." Tomoyo was special to him. She would always be. She was one of his dearest friends, and even after tonight, that fact remained.

"No." Tomoyo shook her head. "I just need to see it." She wasn't trying to shield herself. "I need to see you walk away from me." The emptiness in her heart was enough proof that it was real. It was over. But she needed this one more thing.

"I..." Syaoran looked conflicted. How could he expect her to do that? He couldn't leave her crying alone. He was about to protest again, but he saw something in her that made his decision for him. With his eyes shut, he nodded. He turned around and walked away. He didn't look back.

Tomoyo's hand flew over her mouth while the other clutched her chest. Just when she thought she had no more left, tears began making its way down her face again.

She was watching Syaoran walk away.

And this time, she wasn't going to follow.

* * *

AN: So that's Tomoyo's side. A look at the factor behind her issues and actions. Sad. :| She finally reached her limit. At least the only direction for her is to go up... right? Err, I think. LOL. Please don't forget to leave me a review. You know you want to. :) Thanks, thanks, and thanks!


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